On DG High School
by Wacky Witch
Summary: (AAML)&(High-school) Ash and his guy friends are the ordinary guys. But what happens when he cross paths with Misty, 1 of the most popular girls in school? If studying and planning the dance together won't make them (at least) friends, what will? R&R!
1. I don't want to go to the dance!

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Pokémon; it is owned and created by Satoshi Tajiri and he has the authorization and copyrights to Pokémon and I do not know him personally. Other companies like Nintendo, Game Freak, 4Kids WB and etc. have also authorization and rights to this Animé and I have no contact with them or whatsoever. This fan fiction does not collect money, does not earn money, and the author is not being paid for it. So please do not sue.

Author's Note: Pikachu is not OLD!!! If you saw the episode Pika-huna, there was a surfing Pikachu. And it says in that story that the Pikachu was twenty-something years old. So I think a few years wouldn't make Pikachu old. After all, Ash got him when he was still young.

And another age matters: In this fic, the 4 main characters: Brock, Misty, Tracey and Ash are all in the same age.

Our heroes are high-school students here! No Pokémon badges, no training and the Pikachu and pokémon powers are used only when theire masters want them too. Think of them as an additional kingdom to our Animal Kingdom. The Plant Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom and the Pokémon Kingdom are the kingdoms…and other existing kingdoms like the bacteria and germs and other stuff. I want this fic to be a like a high-school life with a bit of cartoon-ish in it, but of course, I'm trying out to be a little more realistic to the high-school part of life.  So basically, this thing takes place in real life, not Johto, Kanto, Cinnabar Island or Whirl Islands or Orange Islands (in other words, Real Life, Real Dimension)…but there are Pokémon, as I have already explained…

In my old school (I won't tell you where it is) our high-school students are seniors and they are 16-years-old. That's because we don't have eighth-grade in my old school. Few schools have seventh, but usually we only have sixth then onto high school. But I won't tell you where my old school is…(this is not a joke or a made up part. It is true! I'm not making this school-thing up.) So I'm following my school code and making Ash and the gang 16 but all in their senior years…

Chapter One

"I don't _want _go to the dance!" Ash said. 

"Ow!" Brock Slate (?) hit his head on his locker shelf. This sixteen-year-old senior scratched his head.

   "'Sup, Brock?" Tracey Sketchit asked from behind him. 

   "Hit my head on my shelf while looking for my English homework," Brock said. 

   Tracey looked around. "Where's Ash?"

   Brock shook his head. "He called to me to say he'd be late. He did not work on his Science project and now he's at home working on it." Brock saw a junior girl with wavy dark green hair and pretty smile walk by. "Hi, miss. My name is Brock and you can call me anything you wish. For you, I'd prefer to call you 'love'."

   The girl looked at Brock strangely. But then she giggled. "Aren't you a senior?"

   "Sure am, miss!" Brock gave her a smile. 

   Then the girl instantly stepped back from Brock. "You're the guy who entered the girls' bathroom two weeks ago!" She laughed, and so did Tracey. 

   Brock's shoulders sagged as the junior girl walked away, laughing out loud. Brock felt humiliated. It was true. "Well, it was a mistake! Some joker removed the sign plates on the third floor!" But it was no use. "Oh no…I'd never get a date this way!"

   "You _never_ get a date, period." Tracey looked at him with a big, goofy grin on his face. 

   "Thanks for pointing that out."

   "No problem." Tracey grinned. 

   Later, about thirty-minutes after classes started, Ash Ketchum raced towards his English class. The door flew open. "I'm sorry. I know I'm late."

   "Well, Mr. Ketchum, thank you for admitting that you're late, but the whole class can see that," Mr. Sanchez said. "And so can I. So please, just take your seat."

   Ash sat beside Tracey during Friday's English period. "Did you finish your project?"

   "No. I think I'll get an **F**," Ash said from the corner of his mouth. 

   "But you've gotten about 2 **F**s already for this week! Aren't you worried about your grades?" Tracey whispered.

   Ash just shrugged it off, but he was worried. He tried making up for his **F** in Geography, but the teacher said that if there was a grade that is worse than **F**, that would be his grade. He tried really hard, but his head just can't crack Geography and he was behind Science. Science was good, but he was off-track because of his Geography failures.

   Lunchtime!

   "Well, this is one time in school when I don't have to worry about failing," Ash said proudly when he crashed on Misty Waterflower, one of the most popular girls in school. 

   "Nice going, Ketchum." Misty glared at him. Her brand-new sky-blue shirt was stained with barbecue sauce and milk was all over it. As the best swimmer in the girls' swim team, best gymnast, head of the yearbook committee, head of the party committee and editor-in-chief of the school paper, she is definitely one of the most popular girls in school. She maintained a good **A+** average. People said she's really nice, but she's a time bomb too. She'll explode and yell at you when you least expect it from her. She looks calm on the outside, but sometimes she's fuming in the inside. 

   "Sorry." Ash grinned at her weakly as he offered her some napkins.

   Misty walked past him with an angry look on her face. "You're paying for the dry cleaners!" she yelled. 

   Ash looked at his mangled lunch, and trashed it. His stomach grumbled, but he had no money left. Plus he stained someone's shirt. He spotted Brock and Tracey on their usual table. "Hey."

   "Where's your lunch?"

   "I crashed right onto Misty Waterflower." Ash groaned.

   "You didn't!" Brock spluttered.

   "I did," Ash said.

   "Did she get mad at you? If she didn't can you tell her to hook me up with Whitney Goldberg?"

   Ash raised his brows. "Get a clue, moron, I crashed right onto her! My lunch was all over her shirt, and I even have to pay for the dry cleaners! So don't got your hopes up on meeting Whitney, the cheerleading captain."

   "Brock has very little chance of going out with a girl," Tracey piped in, "Just this morning a junior just laughed at him because of his accident. So how can Whitney the captain even _look_ at you?"

   "Shut up." Brock said with a sad face. 

   Ash looked at Tracey, who plainly said, "Well, it's true, isn't it?"

   Gary Oak, Ash's rival since they were in 3rd grade, walked towards their table. "Hey, Ash, guess what? I just got a date," Gary bragged.

   "Who's the girl who pitied you?" Ash said with a smug grin on his face. 

   He looked directly at Brock, and said, "_Whitney Goldberg_."

   "Poor girl." Ash shook his head.

   Gary fumed. "Well, at least I got a date with one of the most popular girls in school!"

   "Tell her to bring magazines because you're going to bore her out," Ash said.

   Gary gave as a look as if he wanted to strangle Ash. But he had that look on his face all the time whenever Ash answers back with annoying replies. "I saw you spill something on Misty Waterflower's clothes. Idiot."

   "Well, she was way too snobby anyway! Fussing over a shirt…" Ash turned away, annoyed by Misty's rudeness.

   "Wake up, moron! That shirt was from France! Can't you tell a designer shirt when you see one?" Gary shook his head.

   "Sorry, I have more important things in my mind that minding what shirts girls wear," Ash said. He stabbed Brock's milk cartoon with Tracey's unused fork. He grinned at Gary. 

   "I didn't know you had a brain, Ash. I guess brains are sold in shops these days," Gary said and walked away. Whitney caught up with him and they linked arms out of the cafeteria. Half of the boys stared at Gary, whispering: "How did that new kid get Whitney to date him? Waterflower and Goldberg are the pickiest girls in school!" or "That kid is so lucky…" and more.

   Ash gave Misty the money for the dry cleaners, totally emptying his allowance. And his mother had a two-week allowance policy. _What am I going to do when I turn eighteen?_ Ash thought. His mother gives him money to last even more than two weeks, but he gets a new one every two weeks. But he had been spending so much money on new shoes **(I got this shoe-addiction from my 'uncle' who had practically 2 new pairs of shoes every week)** like what the NBA players wore. They were expensive, and it emptied Ash's allowance and he still had a week to go!

   "Thanks." Misty gave him a bleak smile, then walked away. She stopped. "Next time, look where you're going." She said in an irritated tone.

   Ash fumed. "I won't forget!" He shouted.

   Tracey approached Ash. "Gave her the money?"

   "Yeah. And she charged me twice the price because she shirt is a _designer_ shirt from Paris," Ash said with a scowl. 

   "Tracey! Ash! I just got a flyer!" Brock said, running towards them. They all walked outside and started walking towards home. Ash and Brock live on the same block while Tracey lives 3 blocks away. But they were all on the same path. "I just got this flyer from Richie. He and Rudy were assigned to plaster these flyers and slide them through the lockers. It's for the annual Denver Glade High Homecoming Dance."

   Ash crumpled the flyer. "So what? Like I want to come anyway. I'd rather play with Pikachu and figure out a way to last a week with ten cents as allowance."

   Tracey took the crumpled paper from Ash. He smoothened it. "That's okay. You need fifteen dollars for the tickets anyway, so even if you want to, you're out of cash."

   Brock went starry-eyed. "I can see it now…girls dancing with me…"

   "Dream on," Tracey said with a smirk. "After that junior-girl incident, I don't think even an eighth-grader would be willing to go out with you."

   "Nasty, nasty…" Brock said. "They're just shy! Why can't they admit that they totally admire Brock the Wonder Guy?"

   Ash shook his head. He took off his cap and shoved it in Brock's mouth. He didn't want to hear anything about it. First, he got an **F**, second, he crashed onto Misty and had to pay her double for her shirt, third, Gary just rubbed on his face that he got a date with Whitney Goldberg, fourth, he's sure that his mother would bug him to come to the dance. 

   The sky darkened as the clouds began to cover the sunlight. There was rumbling of thunder and small flashes of lighting. It was clear that it would rain. Ash and Brock ran off while Tracey took his turn towards his house. The rain began to pour, and Ash's bag began to split. His books tumbled out of his bag, and half of them landing on a puddle. _At least it's Friday,_ he thought.

   "Hi, Mom," Ash greeted. 

   "Ash Ketchum! You're soaked!" She said as she ran towards the bathroom to get some towels. "You could get sick. And you wouldn't be able to go to the dance."

   Ash looked surprised. "How did you know about that?"

   "Apparently you have the flyer stuck on your shoe."

   Ash looked at his left shoe sole. There it was, the evidence of the school dance. "But Mom, I'm broke. I just paid for the dry cleaning bill of a girl because I stained her Parisian designer shirt by accident. And I just bought a new pair of shoes two days ago."

   Delia Ketchum frowned. "Ash! Stop being a shoe fanatic."

   "Can't help it," Ash said. "And the tickets for the stupid dance is fifteen dollars."

   "Well, I'll advance you on your allowance. But your shoe collecting has got to stop at least for a month. Learn to control your shoe buying, Ash. And you buy expensive ones too!" Delia said. 

   "I don't have to go to the dance!" Ash complained. "I don't _want_ to go to the dance. Pikachu and I are just going to stay here and play games. I'd rather sleep than dance."

   Delia frowned again. "What? And miss all that fun?"

   "There's no way I'm going," Ash said.

   Saved by the phone, Ash zipped away upstairs. Then his own phone line rang. 

   "Hello?"

   It was Tracey. "I know you're going to flip when you hear this bro, but you have to go to the dance."

   "Make me," Ash said stubbornly. 

   "No! I just heard from Richie that Mrs. Carlton said that she'd give extra-credit to all the students in her Science class if they showed up in the dance. She says it is a form of Science too. _Socializing_ and stuff," Tracey said. "Of course, that's what you get from a retired psychologist."

   Ash's brows shot up. "Really?" Then his heart dropped. "But I don't have anything to do there. I know you're going to get a date, but I won't hang around and watch Brock humiliate himself there."

   "Bash Brock Day, huh?" Tracey joked. "Well, you _need_ the credit. Just hit the food table until the dance is over."

   "I can't eat all night!" Ash retorted.

   "Eat an **F** then," Tracey taunted. He heard his father calling and said, "Gotta go. Bye." He hung up.

   Ash covered his face with his palms. "Can't I just do a fifty-page report or something?" Pikachu climbed up to him.

   "Pika-pipi-pika-pikachu," Pikachu said. (You can't even finish a ten-item Math homework, and you want a fifty-page report?)

   "Lay off, Pikachu," Ash said irritably.

   "Pika-pika-chu," Pikachu retorted. (Suit yourself.)

   _Pikachu's right. I need that credit, but I don't want to go to the dance. And who knows what will happen there? Gary's going to shove Whitney up on my nose all night, Tracey will find a date—somehow, and Brock will probably go there and be an idiot. But Brock might get a date…somehow,_ Ash thought. 

**Wacky Witch:**

**Okay! Got that first chapter done. Not much of a good humor, but soon to come. After all, humor does not come in boxes you can order over the net, so I'm working on it. I'm not really good at funny stuff, but I'm trying my best. **

**Anyway, this is probably going to be an 8-chapter story, so keep checking back!!! Hope y'all liked it.**


	2. Mission Impossible or Possible?

Disclaimers: If you read the first chapter, you will see my detailed DISCLAIMER there. 

Chapter Two

Mission Impossible _or_ Possible?

"No way!" Ash said, stealing the basketball from Richie and attempted to shoot from the three-point line.

   "Way," Richie said. "I already told you. That new sophomore named Casey likes you."

   "You mean that baseball fan girl who keeps following you everywhere because she knows that you know me very well? Creepy," Ash said. 

   Richie nodded. "You said it. Tracey just told me that you don't have anybody to go to the dance with, so, um, you can ask her," Richie suggested as his three-point shot went in the hoop. Ash got the rebound and passed it back to Richie.

   "Gary Oak will never, ever give me peace if I came with that girl." Ash shuddered. "I know she's pretty, but Gary just got a date with Whitney Goldberg, and I expect that they will come to the Homecoming Dance together."

   "Oak? He's always like that," Richie said. "And the coach of the football team just told the quarterback to get game or else he'll replace him. And guess who the replacement is?"

   Ash closed his eyes and groaned, slamming the ball on the cement. "Gary Oak is the next possible quarterback?"

   "You said it." Richie said. He looked at his G-shock. "Yikes! I need to meet Duplica at McDonald's in twenty minutes. Later, Ash."

   _Great. I'm doomed. Gary just might be the next quarterback, and that'll make he and Whitney the couple of the senior year, and he won't quit bugging me about it,_ Ash thought. _I really don't care if I don't get a date. Or a girlfriend, even, but the Oak monster would never let this subject drop._

   Ash started heading home, dribbling the ball with each step. After two blocks he saw Brock chasing a girl that looked like…_Officer Jenny?_

   But Officer Jenny told him that she's got more important things to do, and she was five years older than he was. Ash scratched his head and ran towards Brock. "Brock! What _are_ you doing?"  
   "I'm trying to get a date," Brock said. "Why can't girls just admit that they like me?"

   Ash shook his head. "I don't know. And Brock, Officer Jenny was five years older than you are."

   "_She_ was nice and pretty," Brock said with a sigh. 

   "Whatever."

   "Hey, Ash." Casey Carmichaels greeted. "I heard that you don't have a date for the dance."

   It was Monday morning and Ash was practically snoozing inside his locker while he fished out for his books. The night before he stayed up late to watch a horror movie special on TV and forgot that he had school the next day. And he didn't get enough sleep either because all night long there was big commotion at their neighbor's house across the street. There were policemen and a lot of yelling, and most of the neighbors were out, chattering and gathering around the scene. 

   "Ash? Ash Ketchum?" Casey said, poking Ash's shoulder with her left index finger. 

   "H-huh? What?" Ash said as a stack of books slid out of the shelf and hit him on the head. "Ow!"

   Casey peered inside. "What are you doing?"

   Ash was startled and hit his head on the shelf. "Ouch! Casey?"

   "Yeah, and I was just saying about—"

   The bell rang. Ash shook his head. "Sorry, Casey. Can't afford to be late. Bye!" He dashed off to his classroom, leaving Casey Carmichaels staring after him.

   "The dance is this Friday," Brock reminded Tracey and Ash during lunch. 

   "So?" Ash said, picking up his milk carton and popped it open. 

   "Well, I'm getting desperate, and I _need_ a date. So you two guys need to help me," Brock said, practically on his knees. **(Well, this certainly won't happen in the Animé, but remember, this is my fic!)**

   "Brock, you're hopeless, there's nothing we can do," Tracey said. He laughed. "Just kidding, man."  
   Brock propped his chin on the table and slammed his fist, making Ash's and Tracey's lunch wobble. "I _need_ a date to show those girls that I, Brock Slate, can uh…"

   "Can—_what?_" Ash asked. 

   "Can, um, can dance!" He said sheepishly. "Besides, if they see me on the dance floor, they'll be voting for me as the best dancer." He gave them a pleading look. "Please, please help me. And Ash, I won't ask Officer Jenny again if you help me."

   Ash laughed. "What can I do?"

   "Duh. There are lots of girls on this school. Pick one, make me look good and make sure she'll be going to the dance with me."

   Tracey hums the "Mission Impossible" theme.

   "Not helping." Brock scowled at Tracey. 

   "Brock, you know that I don't have interest in girls as much as you do," Ash said, taking a bite from his BLT sandwich. 

   "Come on, Ash. And _Tracey,_" Brock said. 

   "Why are you asking us?" Tracey asked. 

   Brock sighed dramatically, as if they were in an opera. "Ash knows lots of people, and he is somehow popular and Tracey, I just know you can do it. So please?"

   "Okay. Okay," Ash said. 

   "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," Brock said. 

   "Debbie!" Ash yelled. He spotted Debbie Princeton at the end of the west wing. Debbie was an advice columnist in the school paper, and Ash knew that she was a good person. She also worked with Brock in a Science project back in the freshmen year, and they had the highest score for that project. 

   "Ash? What's up?" Debbie asked, hitching her red backpack over her shoulder. 

   "Listen, do you have a date for the dance on Friday?" Ash asked nervously, hoping she wouldn't misunderstand the situation and think _he_ was asking her to the dance. 

   "I'm not going." 

   Ash's mouth dropped open. "What?"

   "Well, you see, my family is having a reunion, so I can't go," Debbie said. "Why?"

   "Uh, Brock needs a date for the dance, and you know he's such a weirdo around girls and it scares them off, so we're helping him find a date," Ash explained. 

   Debbie looked at Ash strangely. "And you were hoping that I'm going to the dance with him?" She laughed. "I'm sorry, Ash, but let me tell you this, I do like Brock because he's really nice, but when it comes to girls he needs to change a little bit. He can't be girl-crazy all his life." She smiled and headed for the exit. Ash's shoulders slumped, privately agreeing about what Debbie said. 

~_Meanwhile, Tracey was also doing the same thing…_~

   Tracey looked around. "Michelle!" He saw Michelle Thompson pass by. Michelle is Tracey's cousin.

   Michelle whirled around, surprised to hear Tracey calling her. "Tracey!"

   Tracey tried not to blush. He swallowed. "Michelle, I have a favor to ask you."

   "Sure!" Michelle said delightfully. "What's that?"

   "Brock needs a date for the dance and I was thinking—"

   Michelle shook her head. "Sorry, Tracey. I already have a date." She smiled. "But I know that Carrie Williams is still looking for a date. Why don't you try her out?"

   "Thanks, Mich," Tracey said, flinging the exit doors open to find Carrie Williams.

   "Sorry, Brock, m'man, no luck today." Ash said. 

   "No luck any day," Tracey joked. 

   They were at Brock's house and working on a group project they were given for History.

   "That's not funny," Brock said. "How many girls did you ask?"  
   "I asked three," Ash said. 

   "Two." Tracey grinned. 

   "And none of them said yes? Who were they?"

   "Cousin Michelle and Carrie Williams," Tracey said. 

   "Debbie Princeton, Samantha Kirk and Denise uh…_someone,_" Ash said, forgetting the surname of the last girl. 

   "I'm not giving up!" Brock said. "I'm going to find myself a date. And guys, I think you should stay out of this. I'm willing to bet that Carrie refused to go with me because some of the wisecracks Tracey told her."

   Tracey tried not to look guilty, but he burst out laughing. "She _did_ laugh at your bathroom-incident, but she said no because she's still waiting for Rudy to ask her." He got up and looked through Brock's CDs and played the movie soundtrack of the movie "Mission Impossible". "I told you it wouldn't work. You should do it Brock, not us. You're the one who needs the date."

   "I guess you're right." Brock punched the air with his fist. "Nurse Joy, here I come!"

   "No, Brock, I didn't mean Nurse Joy! She's also five years older than you," Tracey said. 

   "He's hopeless," Ash said as Brock started dialing the number of the community veterinary clinic.

   The day started closing in as bleak signs of sunset began showing up. The clouds started to glow orange and the sky turned redder instead of bluer. Venus, the twin planet of Earth, also called the **Morning/Evening Star**, was vivid up in the sky. Ash decided to check out his favorite comic book store for new editions when he spotted Misty Waterflower in the very the same store. 

   "What? Miss Straight-**A** student reads comics? Interesting," Ash murmured as he pushed the door open. Misty jumped, as if she was nervous someone would spot her buying comics.

   "Ash Ketchum!" She said, startled. "What are you doing here?"

   "I buy comics here, _Misty Waterflower_," He said. "Funny seeing you here. I thought you'd be out there planning for the Homecoming Dance on Friday."

   Misty blushed. "Well, we were almost done anyway, so I came here to buy the newest edition of _this_."

   She held out the very new edition of Ash's favorite comic, and Ash's jaw dropped. 

   "You read that? I thought that a straight-**A** student like you would consider comics _garbage_," Ash said.

   Misty grinned. "If you read them right before an exam, this is junk. But for fun and past time, good. Besides, I don't read them every time. That's stupid. Reading comics and no _real_ books is pure bonehead stuff. So when I'm not busy, or I'm not tied up to anything, I read them," Misty explained, stuffing her comic inside her bag. 

   "Are you lecturing me in a masked way?" Ash said, trying to read between the lines. He could tell that Misty was referring to his unfinished Science project.

   "Whatever." Misty gave him a knowing look and left the store.

   Ash grumbled and inquired for the price then left the shop as well. He was sick of her attitude. Even though she hardly speaks to him, he could see her ordering her committee people around. She was always a serious girl. Back when they were both sophomores, they were assigned to be lab partners. Misty was a bossy girl who kept grumbling and scolding at Ash every day during Science. 

   Ash headed home. He was just a block away when he heard someone yelling his name. It was Gary. 

   "Now what do you want?" He said irritably. 

   "I got Whitney to be my Homecoming Dance date. And by the time that dance is over, I think I'll ask her to be my girlfriend," Gary bragged. 

   Ash did a slight imitation of Gary asking Whitney to be his girlfriend. Gary seethed with anger. "Jealousy."

   Ash coughed a false laugh. "_Me?_ Jealous? Ha! You're crazy," Ash said. 

   Gary grinned. "I knew it! When you broke up with Giselle six months ago you're just afraid getting dumped again!" Gary yelled. "Chicken-boy. Chicken-boy."

   "I'm _not_ chicken!" Ash yelled. 

   "If you're not, I dare you to ask Misty Waterflower to the dance, and she'd better say _yes_," Gary said. 

   Ash looked horrified. He couldn't _deal_ with Misty. She was _bossy._ If she ever agreed to go with him, she'd probably order him how to eat, drink or even breathe! "No way. I'm not asking Miss Little Stuck-Up to the dance," Ash said. "I'd rather go alone. And besides, I'm going there for the extra credit, you monkey."

   "Extra credit? Me too, but at least _I_ have a date," Gary said. "So unless you're chicken…"

   Ash felt himself gathering power to punch Gary in the face. "Shut up!!! I'm not a chicken!"

   "So ask Waterflower then."

   "No way. Did you know that girl is one of the bossiest girls in school?"

   "Well, Whitney isn't perfect either, she retouches her makeup every ten minutes," Gary pointed out. 

   "I'm not asking her to the dance."

   "Chicken-boy." Gary did an imitation of a chicken.

    If you don't quit it I'll tell Whitney that you still have that stuffed panda and you still hug it when you watch home horror movies," Ash said.

   Gary stopped. "You wouldn't!"

   "Oh. I will," Ash said. "If you don't stop bugging me about it. So enjoy your date with Whitney and stop bugging me. Or else it's panda treatment for you."

   Gary growled and walked off. Ash was pleased with himself. 

**Wacky Witch:**

**Bad, bad ending. In fact, this chapter was written during a mild block, so it came out this way. If anybody would like to contribute or ask anything about this fic, you can always e-mail me about it. But I doubt that any of you will ever will. **

**Thanks to M*Y*S*T-L*A*D*Y's nice review!!! And yes, Gary will be in the picture. There will be a twist. I'm sorry for the bad chapter, I wrote this in a hurry and I want to finish this story soon. **

**Preview:**

**Chapter Three: This New Girl**

**…**

**"Class, we have a new student. Her name is Suzie Mitchell, and she just moved here two weeks ago."**

**   _Wow, she's pretty. She's prettier than Whitney!_ Brock thought. _I think I'll ask her to the dance._**


	3. This New Girl

Disclaimers: See chapter one 

Chapter Three 

This New Girl 

"Mr. Ketchum, if you can't manage a C average on my class, I'll have to call your mother and suggest a tutorial sessions for you." Mr. Sanchez said, handing Ash his test paper. A big fat **D** was on top, and a whole bunch of comments beside it.

   Ash looked at Mr. Sanchez. His face clearly stated guilt. He knew he could've done better, but he was _lazy_. He looked down at his feet, hoping the whole situation would just pass by. But that was very impossible. Mr. Sanchez moved on to the next with a disappointed look on his face. 

   There was a bleeping sound on the PA speaker. It was the secretary, Ms. Hudson. 

   "Mr. Sanchez, we have a two students for you. One is a new transferee and the other one is a class change," Ms. Hudson said. "Can you take them in?"  
   Mr. Sanchez stopped and walked back to his desk to look at his class record. "The class change is rather late, Ms. Hudson. Whose class is this student from?"

   "Ms. Bartlett's Science class," Ms. Hudson replied. "So, are you taking her in?"  
   "Did Ms. Bartlett agree to this?"

   "Why don't you come by to the office right now?" Ms. Hudson asked impatiently. 

   Mr. Sanchez sighed and looked at Ash. "Class, settle down. I suggest that you read Chapter 7 as preparation for our next lesson. If I find out that you wasted your time while I was gone, I'll give you a pop quiz for that chapter." 

   Ash flipped the pages as the words kept running past his eyes and his brain doing _nothing_. "Concentrate." He muttered. School just started (three months) and he was already off-track. He had never been an **A** student, but he kept a **B**- average nearly all his school life…except for this one. "Focus!" He said, silently scolding himself. He became off-track doing other things. Sometimes he just felt lazy, sometimes he felt like doing something else, that's why he rarely got around to focus on his schoolwork.  

~*~

"I know that most of you are familiar Misty Waterflower. Today, she was chosen student buddy for our new student here, Suzie Mitchell." Mr. Sanchez stepped aside. "She just came here two weeks ago."

   The class grew silent. Brock looked up. _Misty Waterflower and who?_

   "Suzie is a transferee here and she came all the way from England, so that's why she needs a student buddy to show her around. Misty Waterflower here was chosen by Principal Lennon to be her student buddy to show her around make her feel at home. Misty's Science classes were changed so she and Suzie will all be in the same classes." Mr. Sanchez told Suzie to sit beside Brock and Misty on the other side of Suzie.

   _Wow, she's pretty. She's prettier than Whitney!_ Brock thought. _I think I'll ask her to the dance. And maybe she's nicer too._

   "Hi," Suzie greeted.

   Brock froze. _She just said 'hi' to me!_

   "Hey," Brock said. "I'm Brock Slate."

   "Suzie Mitchell, as you have heard." Suzie smiled. 

   Mr. Sanchez continued handing out the test papers before he began the new lesson. 

~*~

"Really, Ash, I think you need a tutor," Mrs. Dudley said. Mrs. Dudley is Ash's Math teacher. 

   "But—"

   "I know it's been only three months, but I don't want to see any of my students failing my class. I just heard from Mrs. Carlton that you have two **F**s in her Science class! And Mr. Sanchez is also considering tutorial sessions for you," Mrs. Dudley said. 

   Ash groaned. He didn't want a tutor. But he _was_ failing. "Is there anything else I can do so I won't need a tutor?"

   "I've made up my mind. You're getting constant **D**s on my tests, Ash. In fact, I think you should start right away. The term ends in a few weeks you know, and I'm sure Mrs. Ketchum would like to see a decent report card, don't you think so?" Mrs. Dudley gave Ash a stern look. "And I will consider giving you extra credit work to makeup for this test if you get t tutor." She shuffled some papers on her desk and turned back to Ash. "I want you to have a tutor before the Homecoming Dance. Bring your tutor to me so I can see if he or she is suited to tutor you. If you don't have a tutor by Thursday, I'll be forced to choose one for you. Is that clear?" 

   Ash nodded. He left and headed for the cafeteria. Ahead he saw the stretching line of students, waiting for the mean cafeteria ladies to serve them. Ash shook his head. Then there was a crash. Ash fell on the floor. He blinked, realizing what just happened. He was walking near the doorways and not looking where he was going when someone opened the door and he slammed directly on to it. His forehead throbbed, even though it wasn't anything serious. Upon hearing someone whisper, Ash immediately got back to his feet.

   "Oh, it's you."  
    It was Misty. The SG president, Melody Gates, was with her. 

   "Why don't you watch where you're going?" Misty said irritably. "Clumsy oaf."

   "If you would've been more careful opening the door you would have known that this is a free hallway with a walking permit," Ash retorted. 

   Misty arched an eyebrow. "If this hallway has a walking permit, so does this door! This door has an _opening_ permit!"

   "Redhead freak," Ash muttered as he dusted his clothes. 

   "Immature jerk," Misty said right back. She grabbed Melody's arm and walked away. Ash made a face when she turned her back. 

~*~

   "And she called me an _immature jerk_," Ash said, stuffing more potato salad in his mouth as he complained to Tracey about Misty's attitude. 

   "Forget it, Ash. It's over," Tracey said, shaking his head. He glanced at Brock, who was looking at Suzie. Suzie was sitting with Misty and her friends, and they appeared to have a good time. "Thinking of asking Suzie Mitchell to the dance, eh, Brock?"

   "Yeah! I'll show the world that Brock the Wonder Guy is not a loser!" Brock said. 

   "How strong do you think Suzie is?" Tracey whispered. 

   "We'll see when she slaps Brock." Ash said. 

   Brock got up. Ash and Tracey gave him thumbs up, even though they had high doubts about it. He cautiously approached Melody's table. Sitting there were: Misty, Karen Iverson, Clair Fontana, Melody (Of course) and Suzie. 

   The girls stopped laughing when they saw Brock standing there, trying not to look stupid. He grinned at them. He swallowed. "Uh, can I talk to Suzie for a moment, please?"

   Melody looked at Suzie. "Brock Slate, Suzie. He's very nice, except he's a girl-crazy guy."

   "Yeah. I know," Suzie said. She smiled at Brock and got up. "Hi. You said you wanted to talk to me, right?"

   Brock nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking…um, did Melody and you friends tell you about the Homecoming Dance on Friday?"

   "Sure! Are you coming?" Suzie replied, brushing a lock of her hair of her face. 

   "Yeah, well, do you have a date? Because I was thought we could go…um, together…" Brock prepared for the laugh or the ultimate slap. So did Ash and Tracey, who anticipated for the reaction eagerly. 

   Suzie's smile faltered, as she saw Tracey in the background. She took a deep breath and put her right hand on Brock's left shoulder. "Sorry, but I was hoping that this guy would ask me, even though I'm a new girl. He helped me in Math today, and I thought he was really nice. Sorry, Brock. But thanks for the offer." She gave him a bright smile, and walked back to her table. Brock was in shock. He wasn't turned down because he was a girl-crazy freak, but he was turned down for another guy. 

   Brock slinked back to the table. Ash and Tracey looked at him. 

   "Wow! What happened?"

   "She said she was waiting for someone else to ask her, even though she's a new girl. She said she met him in her Math class," Brock said, putting his head down on his desk. 

   Tracey froze, but neither Ash nor Brock noticed it. **(I just remembered, that this is a fic only with a touch of reality but planted in the cartoon world, so sweat dropping is still applicable. ^_^)** He waved his hand dismissively. "Hehe, never mind Brock, I'm sure you'll find a date soon." 

   Ash shot Tracey a weird look. 

   "What?" Tracey said, returning the weird look.

   Ash just shook his head. "Even **this new girl**turned Brock down."

   "I wonder who that guy is?" Brock asked. 

   Tracey just looked away while slurping from his milk carton. 

~*~

"Tracey!"

   Brock stopped upon overhearing a girl call Tracey's name. They were coming on the hallway, so Brock hid in an open but empty classroom. He opened the door a crack, and saw Tracey Sketchit and the girl, _Suzie Mitchell._

   "Suzie Mitchell?" Brock whispered. _What could she possibly want with Tracey?_ He thought, leaning closer to the doorframe. 

   Tracey looked nervously around. "What's up, Suzie?"

   "You _do_ know why I turned down Brock, right?" Suzie said. 

   "What? No, of course not. Why did you turn him down anyway? He's been very confident that you'll say yes, and he was very disappointed when you already have your eye on someone else—for your first day," Tracey said, scratching his head, trying to look as innocent as possible.

   Suzie narrowed her eyes, batting her lashes at Tracey. "I was hoping you'd ask me to the dance, Tracey Sketchit."

   _Sorry. I have other ideas of my own, _Tracey thought. "Sorry, Suzie—"

   "Please? Come on, we got along well at Math," Suzie threw her hair back. It bounced nicely behind her.

   Brock nearly exploded. _Tracey? She wants Tracey to take her to the dance? _Brock looked shaken, as if Suzie just stomped his heart into tiny little pieces. 

   "Look, Suzie, about the dance. I really—"

   Suzie looked at her watch and held her hand up, to silence Tracey. "I've got to run, Tracey. I expect you to pick me up at this address on Friday, okay?" She gave Tracey a sheet of paper with her phone number and her address. 

   "But Suzie!" Tracey called after her, but she was already out to the door. "Great." Tracey tucked the piece of paper in his bag and walked towards the exit door. Brock opened the door.

   "I can't believe it! And Tracey didn't event tell me that he was the "math guy" Suzie was talking about!" He balled his fists as uttered the words under his breath furiously. "Traitor."

Wacky Witch: Yet another poorly written chapter!!! This whole thing (the story) was already bad to begin with. Very poorly written. 

/deep breath/ all right…um, I'll just continue this story, then I have another short one coming up. Probably the lack of devotion on writing this, but I'm trying my best to hang on and continue. 

Reviewers:

M*Y*S*T-L*A*D*Y: Thanks for saying that you're not disappointed, as I noticed that this fic was badly written. And your fic, _False Pretenses_, was good. The pairings were interesting.

Eevee: Suggesting a shounen ai/yaoi, eh, Eevee? Uh…NO! 

Anybody want to contribute, my inbox is open. But your suggestions are not guaranteed to come up here, although I will try to consider them. If they do get to be in this fic, I assure you that you will get credit for what you have contributed. ^_^

_Violet Emeralds_, author of _Anything But Ordinary_. ~Author of the Update~  


	4. Ash, your tutor will be--

**Disclaimers: See the first chapter!**

Chapter Four

"Ash, your tutor will be—"  
  


It would be a very nice day—if Ash Ketchum didn't need a tutor. Mrs. Carlton said that if he didn't find one by that day, she'd be forced to pick out for him. Ash tried Brock; he was tied up on finding a girlfriend and his job on the community veterinary clinic. Tracey _could_ do it, but backed out in the fear of making Ash fail even more. 

   "Hey! Michelle!" Ash called, spotting Tracey's cousin.

   "What's up, Ash?" 

   Ash twiddled his thumbs. "Uh, this is going to sound really embarrassing…but-Mrs. Carlton-said-that-I-should-find-a-tutor-or-else-there's-a-chance-I'll-fail-first-term-and- if-I-fail-first-term-I-might-ruin-my-whole-senior-year-and-I-may-end-up-repeating-the year-instead-of-going-to-college-so-I-was-thinking-that—" He said swiftly, but he was interrupted by Michelle.

   Michelle gave Ash a strange look. "Ash! Stop! I can't understand what you're saying."

   "Listen, I need a tutor, or else I'll fail first term. If I fail first term, I fail a part of senior year. If I fail a part of senior year, chances of me finishing high school this year are kaput. And if that happens, I might end up repeating the whole year again while you people go to college!"

   "Oh!" Michelle said. "Now I understand."

   "So? Can you help me? Be my tutor?" 

   Michelle shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ash. I'm tied for drama club. New play auditions are coming up, and I want to get into the cast, so I'm pretty busy at the moment." She looked sorry when she said it. "Can't Tracey help you?"

   "He's afraid that he might make me even worse," Ash said gloomily. 

   "Yeah, well, I'm sure Mrs. Carlton will just pick a good tutor for you."

   _Good thing Gary Oak isn't a top student, or else there are high chances of getting him as a tutor,_ Ash thought, as he shuddered. 

   "Ash!" Brock called.

   Ash whirled around to see Brock was running towards him, holding a paper on his hand. "Look! The dance was rescheduled until _next Friday_. It was Principal Lennon's order."

   "Really?"

   "Yeah! That means I still have a few days to find a date. And where's Mr. Traitor?"

   Ash looked puzzled. "Mr. _who?_"

   "**Traitor Sketchit**, duh," Brock said. "Remember when Suzie said that she wanted the guy who helped her in Math to ask her to the dance? Well, I found out yesterday that it was _Tracey_."

   "No way!"

   "Way," Brock said. "The point is, he didn't even tell me! Or you! Or both of us!"

   Ash raised his brows. "Did you also find out if he really _did_ ask Suzie?"

   Brock frowned, trying to remember the scene from yesterday. "No, Suzie _asked him_! And Tracey said no, but she gave him her address and number anyway."

   "Tracey's not a traitor, Brock. If he was, he would've accepted the invitation from Suzie." Ash pointed out. "Get real."

   "But still! It was so clear he wasn't interested in her, so why is she pushing it? And here I am, dateless. What _is wrong_ with these people?" 

   Ash just shook his head as the bell rang. 

~*~

"So, I gave him my address and number!" Suzie exclaimed. 

   "Did he reconsider?"

   "I don't know, I was late for something and left him in the hallway," Suzie said thoughtfully. "Who cares? As long he shows up at my doorstep. He's pretty cute. And nice."

   Misty popped a French fry in her mouth. "Really, Suzie, don't you think that's kinda unfair to Sketchit?"

   "Well, it is, but what's not to like in me? Besides, I'll make sure he'll have a fun time at the dance _next Friday._"

   "I can't believe Lennon cancelled the dance for tomorrow and rescheduling it on next Friday," Clair Fontana said. **(Clair is the Blackthorn City Gym Leader, if you've played Pokémon Silver/Gold/Crystal. Well, I have the Gold and Crystal versions. And Karen is a member of the Elite Four, on the very the same game versions I mentioned.)**

   "It's a good thing, since the whole dance was a short notice anyway, and half of the student body does NOT have a date yet," Karen Iverson said. She turned to Melody, who was awfully quiet since the whole Tracey-Suzie thing. "So quiet today, eh, Melody?"

   "What? OH!" Melody said, blushing a little. "What did you say?"

   "What's wrong?"

   "Nothing…nothing," Melody said. 

   Clair pointed to the cafeteria doors, where Ash Ketchum was trying his best to _politely shoo away_ Casey Carmichaels. "That sophomore—Casey Carmichaels? I've noticed that she's got a massive crush on Ash Ketchum."

   Misty choked on her fry. "_Ash Ketchum?_ That arrogant jerk that thinks he owns the hallway?"

   "What are you talking about?" Karen asked. 

   Melody shook her head. "Some accident happened the day before that involves a forehead, a door and a pair of humans that can really shout—_loudly,_" she explained. 

   "Whatever," Karen said. "He is cute, isn't he?"

   "Cute? Please," Misty said. 

   Melody looked at Ash. "Yeah, he is. What do you think, Suzie?"

   Suzie looked at Ash, Brock and Tracey as they sat on their usual table. She was actually looking Tracey, but she did get a glimpse of Ash. "Maybe." 

   "Honestly!" Misty said. "Ash Ketchum…major pain in the butt. How can you think he's cute? He's not even nice—or _polite_ either."

   "Well, he is, Misty, face it." Karen said. "He would be my second choice if Rudy isn't available. But he is, and I like Rudy."

   Misty just gave her friends a weird look. 

~*~

   "Look, Brock, I'm really, sorry, dude, but _she_ asked me. But I didn't want to go with her!" Tracey said. 

   "Chill, Trace, okay? No fuss. I just happened to have a good idea," Brock said, rubbing his hands together. "What if—when 'you' have to pick her up Friday night, _I'll_ pick her up instead."

   "Yeah, but, what happens when she slaps you?" Ash asked. 

   "She won't. I'll just tell her that Tracey can't pick her up because he'll be a few minutes late, and he didn't want to make her late, so he told me to pick you up, because I'm _dateless._ But I won't really be. Tracey will explain to her at the dance, and 'if' she doesn't break down, everything will be great!"

   Ash looked at Tracey. "There is something really wrong about this plan."  
   "I _just got to have _a date with Suzie!" Brock grinned. "And _I'm_ going to get it."

~*~

   "_Melody Gates, Karen Iverson et Misty Waterflower, bien fait!_" Madame De Carte, the French teacher, said. "Got **A**s on our test."

   "_Merci,_" the three said simultaneously. 

   "All right then…" She scanned the class. "This is just a small exercise, and please answer me in French. _Quelle heure est-il_?" She looked directly at Ash. **(No, Ash is only in Misty's Science, English and French classes. Other than that, they have different schedules.)** _Monsieur Ketchum? Répondez à la question_."

   Ash looked at Madame De Carte helplessly. "_Aujourd'hui est Jeudi_…?" Some of the students laughed. 

   Madame De Carte looked at Ash. "Yes, I can see that you're not paying attention. Anyone would like to correct Mr. Ketchum here?"

   Misty raised her hand. "_Le temps est 9:20 AM_."

   "Very good, Misty," Madame De Carte said. "Ash, I suggest that you pay more attention to your French." 

   "Show off," Ash muttered. He glared at Misty. 

~*~

   "I see…you haven't found a tutor, Ash…" Mrs. Carlton said after classes. 

   "Uh, yeah," Ash said. _Get me someone good…please…_he thought, praying silently. 

   "Well, Ash, you heard what I said. Even if the dance is cancelled, I am still assigning your tutor _today!_" Mrs. Carlton said. 

   "Yes, ma'am," Ash said. 

   Mrs. Carlton flipped some papers over. She saw a couple of students behind Ash. She smiled. "I have picked a good tutor for you, Mr. Ketchum."

   "Who?"

   "Ash, your tutor will be—"

Wacky Witch: 

CUT! Okay, not much of a cliffhanger. Once again, another of my stupid chapters has been finished. I'm rushing this story already…but I'm trying my best to keep it interesting. 

I'm sorry if this chapter's got a couple of errors, I wrote in a hurry. ^_^


	5. When Old Women Can Kick Your Butt

Disclaimers: Hey, I really don't own Pokémon and I'm not writing fanfics for business or profit! So lay off!

Chapter 5

When Old Women Can Kick Your Butt

"—Misty Waterflower."

   Ash felt like the world just stopped turning around. He thought everything just froze for a second. Failing was the first thing in his mind. He was just about to say that he'd rather fail than spend after-school hours studying with Misty Waterflower. But he didn't. He just stood there, his face pale as if he had seen a ghost. No, a monster…_a monster named Misty Waterflower._

   Misty, who was getting ready to leave, hitched her bag over her shoulder and carried a stack of library books by hand. Melody was picking up her notebook on the floor; at the same moment Misty heard that she would be the tutor of Ash. She dropped the stack of books on Melody's head. Oblivious to Melody's whining and complaints, Misty froze, as a frown began to form on her lips. 

   "Misty Waterflower?" Ash said, the same time as Misty said, "Ash Ketchum?"

   Mrs. Carlton smiled. "Yes. Misty, you're a top student, and I'm pretty sure you'll be able to help Mr. Ketchum here with his studies." 

   "But Mrs. Carlton—" Misty began to protest.

   "Say no more, Ms. Waterflower, I have made up my mind." Mrs. Carlton took her shoulder bag and walked towards the door. She smiled when she saw Misty and Ash giving each other death glares. "I think you two would work nicely together. And Mr. Ketchum, please try to concentrate. It's not very easy picking up grades, but you'll do fine. Ms. Waterflower has tutored another student a year before and the student's grades picked up nicely." She grabbed the doorknob, but Misty put her hand on Mrs. Carlton's shoulder. 

   "But I'm busy," Misty said desperately, throwing Ash a dirty look. "I can't. Why can't Melody tutor Ash? She's a top student too."

   Melody was still rubbing her head. Imagine having five, thick hardbound books fall on top of your head. She frowned at Misty. "Hey! You dropped your books on my head, and now you're dragging me into tutoring Ash? No way, sister. You're my best friend and all, but NO WAY!"

   Misty glared at Melody and gave her a look as if to say, _I can't tutor that jerk_. "Mrs. Carlton! Please! I can't tutor _him_," Mist said frantically. 

   "Why exactly is that, Ms. Waterflower?"

   "I can't stand her," Ash piped in.

   Mrs. Carlton grinned, as if Ash had given her another reason to stick them together. "Well, that adds up to your assignment. You two need to get along, and at the same time help Ash pick up his grades. Ms. Waterflower, I assure you that Mr. Ketchum has nothing contagious."

   _Oh, yeah? Wanna bet?_ Misty said, frowning deeply at what Mrs. Carlton said. She glowered as Mrs. Carlton bid them a blissful goodbye. 

   Misty turned to Ash. "Why oh why do I have to tutor you, you immature jerk? There's gotta be another person who can tutor you!"

   "Like I can stand you anyway. I don't want to be under your command any more than you want me as your student. So quit whining," Ash said. 

   "Shut up! Jerk," Misty said icily. 

   "You shut up, Bossy Redhead Freak," Ash said.

   Misty couldn't believe what he said. She turned to Melody. "Melody! Am I bossy?"

   Melody looked at Misty, then to Ash, then back at Misty again. "I don't know. Listen, I'm out of this, so I'll just give you a call, later, huh, Mist?"

   "But Melody!" Misty shrieked as Melody bolted out to the door. 

   _Who doesn't have something contagious,_ Misty repeated the words in her thoughts. Sure, Ash does not have anything contagious, but he was getting on her nerves so much that it made her want to hit him. _I wish there was a game in the arcade named Whack-An-Ash-Ketchum._ She couldn't stand him from a distance, how can she stand him when they're studying together? And he called her bossy! 

   _Great. Now I'm stuck with Little Miss Bossy, _Ash thought. Mrs. Carlton was right; Misty would be a good tutor, except when she's not acting like Adolf Hitler or Napoleon. She's very bossy, uptight and short-tempered. 

   "So? What now?" Ash asked irritably.

   "Tomorrow. Meet me at the library exactly four-thirty on Friday. And don't forget to bring your books. And please, try not to act like a five-year-old." Misty turned her heel and walked out to the door. Ash made a face. 

   "_Please try not to act like five-year-old_." Ash mimicked, putting on a girly-voice that sounding more like a crying dying sheep than any girl's voice. 

~*~

"That's your fifth job!" Misty said, flabbergasted. 

   Lily Waterflower, age 19, currently studying in University of California, but not currently working at McDonald's—because she just got fired from her job. 

   "I know. I know! I was caught drinking straight from the soda machine," Lily said. "Not very hygienic, isn't it?"

   Daisy snickered. "And now you're telling us that it's not very hygienic? So why did you do it?"

   "I don't know. It seemed kind of fun," Lily said. 

   Daisy, Lily and Violet **(I think they're all in the same age, as in, triplets? Aren't they? Oh well, this is just a fic. But if anyone would like to correct me, just e-mail me or place it in the reviews or whatever.)** Are all 19, in short, they're triplets. These three sisters differ in many ways even though they're all pretty. Lily was the stubborn one, and of course, the troublemaker. She just drank straight from the soda machine, didn't she? Daisy is more like Misty—the beauty and the brains. Violet is the artistic one. She paints a lot, and is currently working on her sculpting skills. The four sisters (including Misty) are wonderful girls, which is why Dr. Waterflower, a brain surgeon and Mrs. Waterflower, a successful lawyer, are proud of their children. 

   Lily flopped on to their expensive Persian carpet. "I will never save enough money for that diamond bracelet if I keep getting fired."

   "Well, if you stop breaking the rules maybe you will manage to buy that bracelet. Until then, you're broke," Violet said. 

   "Thanks for pointing that out, Violet," Lily said. 

   "What are sisters for?" Violet said, pushing the door towards the kitchen. 

   Lily growled. She looked at Misty. "You don't happen to have $275, do you?" 

   Misty placed her hands on her hips and arched a brow at Lily. "Even if I do, I'm not giving you a cent!" Misty turned away. "It's your fault for drinking straight from the soda machine, so don't go running to me."

   "How can you be so selfish to your own sister?" Lily said, putting her acting skills to work. She gave Misty the puppy-dog face. "Oh, please…it's not like I'm never going to pay you back. Please, beautiful and smart Misty."

   Misty shook Lily off her leg. "Get off, Lily! I'm not giving you anything! And yes, I do think that you're never going to be able to pay me back because you keep getting fired from all your jobs!" 

   Misty gave Lily a very exasperated look and stalked upstairs, carrying her bag and books over her shoulder. And she thought _knowing_ Ash Ketchum was bad! _Studying_ with him was worse. _Insensitive, self-centered and annoying…_Misty thought as she turned the doorknob. She pushed the door open, and there it was: her ROOM. Clean, neat, orderly and organized. Posters were taped properly on the walls, her desk was spotless, her books and things were properly organized, her TV was dusted and cleaned, her bed was fixed and the sheets were folded, her carpet was vacuumed and her blinds and windows are cleaned neatly. She carefully lifted the plastic covering of her computer and pushed the power button. 

   On the far end of the room was the bathroom door, which connected her room to Daisy's. **(I got this idea from the movie The Haunting, starred by Catherine Zeta Jones and from another book…I think it was Sweet Valley Junior High or some book like that…)** The next door was her walk-in closet. She pulled the closet door open, stepped inside, changed, stepped outside and flopped in front of her computer. 

   As you can see, Misty is a very organized person. And now we're about to discover how their rooms differ from each other's…

~*~

"Ash Ketchum!" Delia Ketchum said in disbelief. She stood in the doorway of Ash's bedroom. Ash rushed upstairs. 

   "Mom!"

   "Ash Ketchum! How can you live in this…this…this—" Delia was out of words to describe Ash's bedroom, "—This _sty?_" 

   Ash frowned, and stepped inside his room. "It's not a sty, Mom. It's a room."

   "No!"

   The doorbell rang. Ash ran downstairs. It was Tracey and Brock. "Hey."

   "Hey! So whom did you get for a tutor? Brock's anxious to know because he's got a feeling that your tutor is a girl," Tracey said. 

   Ash groaned. "Misty Waterflower."

   "She is very beautiful. And smart," Tracey said. "What's your problem?"

   "She is very bossy. And short-tempered," Ash said, using an annoyed tone. "I'm hating Mrs. Carlton for this."

   "Misty Waterflower? Cute, but not my kind of girl," Brock said with a dismissive air. 

   Tracey looked at him. "What? You have girl-types? I thought you'd go after every pretty girl you set your eyes on." 

   "Ash! We're not done discussing your room yet," Delia said. She leaned on the banister of the stairs. "Oh, hi! Tracey, Brock." She held up a piece of fabric of what looked like Ash's underwear. "This is _clean _underwear. This is supposed to go inside your underwear drawer. What's it doing on top of your television?"

   Ash blushed, and Tracey and Brock cracked up. "Mom! Not now!"

   "Now!" Delia said fiercely. She looked at Tracey and Brock. "Tracey, Brock, do you mind waiting while Ash is cleaning is room?"

   Tracey laughed. "We-we d-don't m-mind, Mrs. Ketchum. In fact, we'll even watch Ash do it." Tracey broke into a fit of chuckles again. He hardly had the air to speak. Brock, on the other hand, was laughing and rolling on the floor. Mrs. Ketchum walked towards Ash and placed the underwear over his head. 

   "I want you to wear that underwear on your head until I see your room properly cleaned." Delia walked the rest of the steps downstairs and disappeared in the kitchen. **(Oh yeah, I've decided to make Mrs. Ketchum a very famous interior designer/decorator for her profession)** Then her head reappeared from the kitchen doors. She looked at Brock. "Uh, Brock? Are you done with my wallpaper books you borrowed because your think it would make a good hobby since you're dateless?"

   Brock grinned. "Yes, definitely, Mrs. Ketchum!"

   Tracey shook his head. "Mrs. Ketchum, can you let Brock keep the wallpaper books for a few more days? I think he's going to need it for Friday's Homecoming Dance." Ash laughed along with Tracey. 

   "Cut it out!" Brock said.

   "All right, Brock. Just hand them to me when you're done," Mrs. Ketchum said. 

   The three climbed up to Ash room, which was a real mess. His used and new clothes were mixed up in different heaps in different parts of the room. Ash spotted his Teddiursa-printed pajamas hanging from the bedpost, and he slipped past Tracey and Brock so they wouldn't see his pajamas. He stuffed them under his bed. Brock turned around. "What're you doing, Ash?"

   "Cleaning," Ash said quickly. 

   "You look like you're stuffing something under your bed."

   "What? No!" Ash said, his face turning red. He let go of his pajamas and started feeling something else under the bed. He felt a basketball. He held the basketball, which was all dusty and dirty. "Here! I'm grabbing this!" 

   "Sure…you're grabbing a basketball from under there. With this mess, how can you even remember that you have a basketball under there?" Tracey asked, trying to avoid stepping on Ash's DVD and PS2 CDs. Brock followed. 

   "Watch it!" Ash yelled, diving for his CD player. Brock held his step back. 

   "You really need to organize or at least _clean _this room of yours, Underwear Boy." Tracey spotted an unused sketchpad by Ash's laptop. He picked it up and grabbed a pen. Tracey is also an excellent sketcher and artist. He draws a lot and sketches a lot. "I know! I can draw a comic of you and Brock! _The Adventures of Underwear Boy and the Girl-Crazy Rock_…isn't that cool? I could be famous!" 

   "Can it, Sketchit," Brock said. He turned to Ash. "So when are you and Misty starting your tutorial lessons?"

   "Tomorrow afternoon." Ash picked up a greenish-square from his desk drawer. "This must be my ham and cheese sandwich!" 

   Tracey grabbed it from his hand. "Disgusting! How long has this been sitting in your desk drawer?"

   "About six months, I guess. Probably that's the sandwich I brought up here six months ago when we were working on that end-of-the-term Geography project," Ash said. Tracey threw it inside the black trash bag Delia gave to Ash for his room cleaning. 

   As Ash picked up the clutter, he rediscovered various things that he had forgotten about because they were buried under piles and piles of things. Tracey and Brock kept making fun of him, especially when he saw the cracked picture frame with his former girlfriend Giselle's picture in it. Ash looked at Tracey and Brock. 

   "What should I do with this?"

   "I suggest you keep it!" Brock said.

   "Should I?"

   "Your choice, Ash. Have you spoken to her ever since the breakup?" Tracey asked cautiously, trying not to make Ash feel bad. 

   "She's in Australia, remember?" Ash reminded his friends. "She called me to the airport, said goodbye and she said she had a new boyfriend, and presto! She's off to Australia with her parents."  
   "Oh, yeah…" Tracey said, scratching his head and giving Ash a goofy grin. 

   Ash just set the frame aside and decided to think about it later.

~*~

"Ash Ketchum! Late fifteen minutes…" Misty said, grumbling as she pushed the button on her green G-Shock. 

   It was Friday afternoon, time for their first tutorial. 

   Ash decided to annoy Misty, deliberately coming to the library late. He popped his gum and began chewing it again. He saw Misty on top of the stairs, already annoyed. _Revenge,_ Ash thought.

   "You're late!" Misty said angrily. 

   "I am?"

   "You are, you dense oaf," Misty said icily. "Come on! I have things to do, so can we just get over this?"

   "Fine," Ash said.

   They found a table in the library. There were hardly any people there. The mean librarian, Mrs. Portia, gave Ash and Misty the 'evil eye'. Misty opened her Math textbook. She stared at Ash, who gave her a mirrored look, except with a goofier expression, just to make fun of her seriousness. 

   "Open your book!" Misty grumbled, trying really hard to keep her voice down. 

   Ash did, opening it to the very first page. "Done."  
   "Open it to page 32," Misty said. 

   Before they can even start, Ash began popping his gum inside the library. They were very close to the eagle-eyed, hook-nosed and elephant-eared librarian, who hissed at them like an irate snake. She was giving them a warning. 

   "Stop chewing your gum," Misty whispered. 

   Ash looked at her, with a slightly cross look on his face. "Why are you always like that? So bossy, so uptight…"

   "And why are you asking so many questions, you arrogant jerk?" Misty snapped. 

   "I was just asking! Why are you so irritable?" Ash retorted.

   Misty slammed the book on her desk. "Shut up!" She shouted. "I don't what was Mrs. Carlton thinking about pairing the two of us!"

   "I knew this wouldn't work," Ash hollered, now equally irritated as Misty. _This wouldn't work. Not ever! Misty is just so annoying,_ he thought.

   _Is there anyway I can get out of this task? I can't tutor a person who is so infuriating!_ Misty thought.

   Mrs. Portia was now standing in front of them with an evil glare. Everything happened so fast, and the next thing they knew, she practically kicked them out of the library. Their collars were stretched; clearly they were grabbed there. Ash and Misty landed on their butts on the pavement of the library, and there was a shower of school supplies and books. 

   Misty and Ash exchanged the same evil look Mrs. Portia gave them. Misty gathered her stuff and left. "Jerk!"

   "Snob!" Ash yelled right back. He picked up his books and bag. _We will never, ever get along, _he thought. 

~*~

**Wacky Witch: I like this chapter! It _is_ boring and stupid, but at least it's long and compared to the other chapters, this is much better.**

**Eevee, M*Y*S*T-L*A*D*Y, I LUV Ash Ketchum, Slate and Pipi, Alitna, Erin-chan and Violet Emeralds: Thanks for the nice reviews. ^_^ Please say that you will still continue to read and wait for the further chapters of this story…**

**Hey, Violet Emeralds, I love your fic. ^_^ You better continue or I'll…I'll…I'll haunt you. LOL! Just kidding.**

**M*Y*S*T-L*A*D*Y, thanks so much for the nice comments. And I've read two of your fics…they were nicely written. Good job!**

**And to all, **

**THANKS!!! (I was really in a good mood when I finished this chapter. ^_^x)**

**(Wait…about that French thing on the last chapter, the teacher asked Ash what time was it, and Ash replied that it was Thursday, so he was wrong. Misty corrected him and said it was 9:20 AM. I'm not French; I don't know how to speak French except for "Bonjour" and "Merci". I got that translation from AltaVista Babel Fish Translations. Another thing, what Misty meant of 'immature'? It meant that Ash was acting like a five-year-old [In her opinion].)**

**Suggestion Credits: N/A**

**Sorry, Slate-and-Pipi, I can't consider that it was YOUR suggestion because I originally planned that Misty will be Ash's tutor, so that idea had been in my mind already. But thanks anyway. And thanks for your review and you said it my fic was good.**

    __


	6. We're Stuck

Disclaimers: How many times do I have to tell you that I don't own Pokémon? The production of this fic is completely non-commercial! What part of that can't you understand? Sheesh!

I would like to point out that I based some parts of this chapter to an episode of Lizzie McGuire I saw last Saturday (August 3, 2002). The episode was called: You're A Good Man, Lizzie McGuire. That particular episode was about Kate and Lizzie planning the Spring Fling Dance. If you didn't catch that particular episode, there's an explanation at the end of this stupid chapter.

Chapter Six

We're Stuck

_Crash!_

   Misty suddenly sat up from her sleep, startled. She looked at her alarm clock. It was Monday morning, and Ash had to report to Mrs. Carlton that it is just very impossible for them to get along and study together. She rubbed her eyes, yawned and stretch. The morning sunshine peeked from her blinds and she got up to roll it up to let the light in.

   She saw her scattered notebooks and pieces of paper all over the floor. She was up until midnight studying for her algebra exam. She knelt down to pick her stuff up and put them back in her bag and binder. Misty suddenly remembered her dream. She was standing with a guy whose face she couldn't see and they were yelling at each other. A fragile object was the source of their argument. Both of them accidentally knocked the object down and it crashed. It was the exact same moment when her alarm clock rang. Misty just shook her head and zipped her bag close. 

   After showering, fixing her hair, making sure she looked nice, Misty came down for breakfast. Her mother and father were both reading the _Wall Street Journal_. They both greeted her a good morning. Lily, Daisy and Violet were fighting on their way downstairs. Violet was yelling at Lily because she found out that Lily wore her skirt without asking. Lily was yelling at Daisy because she touched her stuff. Daisy was yelling at Violet for not giving her a phone message. 

   "Girls, girls! Please!" Mrs. Waterflower said, putting her newspaper down. "What are you arguing about?"

   Violet pointed at Lily. "Mom! Violet borrowed my new skirt that I haven't even worn yet! Well, except for the fact I tried it on the store, but that's not the point. She didn't ask for my permission plus she permanently stained it. I can't return this thing now because she cut the tags off and I lost the receipt."

   Lily glared at Violet. "I'll pay you back someday. It's not like I won't make it up to you!"

   "Oh, yeah? You'll make it up to me! When the skirt is out of season! Misty is _so right. We can't trust you with money!" Violet said furiously. "We can't trust you about the fact you'll pay us back because you don't even know how to handle your money."_

   "That is _so not true!" Lily said._

   "And what's your problem, Daisy?" Mr. Waterflower asked as he picked up his teacup.

   "Violet did not give me an important phone message. And now the person just sent about fifty text (SMS) messages on my cell phone ranting about our project and our meeting!" Daisy shot Violet an angry look. 

   "I'm going," Misty said, not wanting to watch her sisters' feud. She grabbed her backpack and binder and kissed her parents goodbye. She set off for the bus stop. 

~*~

   "Students! Please report to the auditorium immediately." Said Principal Lennon on the P.A. system as soon as the final bell rang. "Thank you."

At the auditorium…

   "Excellent," Principal Lennon said. "Most of you are probably absent, some are possibly late. No matter." He cleared his throat, as the sleepy-headed students gave him a low stare. "I see most of you are still sleepy. We can't have that. Everybody stand up."

   _What the heck is this? One of the students thought. _

   "Ten jumping jacks!" Principal Lennon said, doing jumping jacks himself. His fat tummy jumped up and down along with him. 

   The students barely did the jumping jacks. All they did was stretching and making it look like they were jumping. Principal Lennon on the other hand was happily performing the exercise, unaware that his students were barely doing it and were just amusing themselves with his bouncing tummy. 

   "All right, then. Onto business," Principal Lennon said, straightening his Pikachu-printed necktie. "As you all know, our Homecoming game and Homecoming dance is taking place this Friday. The Homecoming dance committee includes the following students: Sabrina Kelly, Melody Gates, Misty Waterflower, Karen Iverson, Clair Fontana, Todd Wendell, Danny McGee and Aaron Griffith." He looked at the sluggish audience. "Isn't that right?"

   No one responded. The principal nodded.

   "Misty Waterflower here is the head of the party committee, although her duties as head party committee excludes the Homecoming dance. Which makes Sabrina Kelly the chairperson of this committee. Our SG president, Melody Gates, is her right hand. However, Sabrina's parents told me that she will be moving soon, and will be unable to continue her duties. Karen quit the staff because of her schoolwork load, and Aaron Griffith was asked by his Math teacher to drop out because his grades were slipping. Leaving Misty, Clair, Melody, Todd and Danny on the staff. Danny, however, did not wish to quit, but due to an unfortunate accident, he broke his left leg and will also be unable to continue his duties." He looked at the audience. "Unfortunately, half of the plans for the dance were ruined because of the sudden subtractions from the staff. So right now, if anybody would like to volunteer, please raise your hand."  
   Suzie Mitchell raised her hand. "I'll do it, Principal Lennon!"

   "Very good, Suzie. I need at least two more boys. Raise your hand," Principal Lennon said. 

   Someone burst on the door. "What did I miss?" The person shouted. 

   It was Ash. 

   "Oh, Mr. Ketchum. Very perky today, aren't we? We were just talking about new staff members for the dance. Since you're so perky and late today, I think you should join the committee." Principal Lennon grinned. 

   Ash spotted Tracey sitting on the end of the middle aisle. "But Principal Lennon—"

   "Yes, Mr. Ketchum?"

   "I don't like to join—"

   "There is nothing you can do!" Principal Lennon said joyously. "One more guy, please?"

   Ash grabbed Tracey's hand and raised it up. "Tracey Sketchit? Excellent!"

   Tracey glared at Ash. "What are you doing, man?"

   "I'm not doing this alone," Ash said.

   _Tracey will be in the committee? Brilliant, Suzie thought. __Ash Ketchum just helped me reel Mr. Sketchit in._

~*~

   "Aw, man! Do I have to be in that stupid committee? I don't _want to go to the dance, and now I'm in the staff?" Ash grumbled, slamming his locker door shut. Brock and Tracey were standing beside him. _

   "At least you get to be around beautiful girls…" Brock said with a dreamy look. 

   "Take my place, then." 

   "I can't. I have a job in the community veterinary clinic. And I can't miss it," Brock said. 

   Ash's face turned sour. "You just want to be there so you can get a date with Nurse Joy."

   As usual the students in the cafeteria were practically a riot. Some were fighting for the last remaining plate of normal-looking Jell-O, some were arguing over the tapioca and one of the lunch ladies were yelling at the kids at the salad bar for sticking their heads under the glass and using their fingers instead of the tongs. Ash was glad that he brought a sandwich and didn't need to line up. 

   Tracey got into line while Brock and Ash sat down at the usual table. When Tracey joined them, Ash immediately looked at Tracey's lunch. "What the heck is that?"

   "French fries and uh…" Tracey prodded a bowl of mushy, mashed and yellowish-looking food. "Come to think of it, I really didn't ask what this is."

   "Isn't that the stuff the school calls, 'Yellow Snow'_?" Brock said._

   Ash wrinkled his nose. "What? Ew!"

   "Be positive," Tracey said, spooning the bowl of yellowish substance. "This could never be 'Yellow Snow'."

   "Oh yeah? Why is that?" Ash asked. 

   "I just saw Principal Lennon take five bowls of these," Tracey said.

   "That explains his weirdness and piggy-ness," Brock said. "Tracey, our principal isn't what you call 'normal'."

   Upon requesting to avoid the subject because it ruins appetites, Ash turned to Tracey. "I was just wondering when is the first meeting of the Homecoming committee."

   "Why ask me? You're the one who got me into this," Tracey said, his mouth full of French fries. 

   "Because that Waterflower is there, and I can't ask her," Ash said. "Look, I'm sorry if I got you into this. I can't deal with that snooty wench. I need you to back me up."

   "Ash, she's just Misty! Why are you making a big deal out of this? Okay, she's snobbish and stuck-up. But you don't have to be such a baby. I mean there are plenty of ways to avoid her. Don't talk to her. Don't look at her! So what's your problem?" Tracey said in a tone, which clearly indicated that Ash was overreacting about the Misty-situation.

     He is overreacting. Ash didn't say anything to Tracey's comment. 

~*~

   "So Ash Ketchum just helped me get Tracey." Suzie smiled. She was clearly bragging out her plan to get Tracey to like her. 

   "Can we stop talking about this?" Melody said irritably. She was sick of Suzie's bragging. Whenever she got the chance, she always talked about how cute Tracey is, how nice Tracey is and everything about him. Melody felt like her brain was going to explode. But more than that, she felt very jealous. 

   Suzie gave Melody a superior look. "Excuse me, but I find it really rude when I get cut-off—"

   "Oh, yeah? I guess I find it also very irritable that you're yakking about Tracey Sketchit whenever you get the chance."

   "What is your problem, Melody?" Suzie asked, flipping her long, silky hair over her shoulder. 

   Clair looked at Suzie and Melody. "Is this is a fight?"

   Melody glared at Clair. "Keep out of this, Clair." She glared at Suzie. "Look, I'm getting really sick of your babbling about Tracey Sketchit. And you are so pushy. You know that he doesn't like to go to the dance with you, and yet you're talking like you're his girlfriend or something."

   "I will be, if you would just butt-out. Why do you care anyway? It's not like you're his girlfriend or anything. So what gave you the authority to stop me from getting him to be my boyfriend?" Suzie shot back angrily. Her face flushed. 

   Melody's eyes rounded, and suddenly her eyes shined, clearly she was about to cry. Misty looked at her. "Melody?"

   Melody looked down, didn't respond and got up from the table and ran out of the cafeteria. 

   "What a bi—"

   "Don't say it!" Misty said in an equally exasperated look. "I can't believe you. _He's only a guy, for Pete's sake. So you like him. But that also does not give you the authority to hurt other people's feelings. You don't know Melody, and you certainly don't know that you're hurting her while you're babbling about Tracey." Misty gave Suzie one last angry look and also left. _

   Karen and Clair were left at the table with the dumbfounded Suzie, whose mouth was hanging open. She didn't even get the chance to retaliate to Misty's words.

   "Yeah. We thought you were good, Suzie. But we were so wrong. Now we know you're a _bimbo," Clair said, picking up her lunch tray. She looked at Karen, who felt sorry and mad at Suzie at the same time. _

   "Sorry, Suzie." Karen said, looking at Suzie with a mixed expression on her face.

   Suzie was standing there, open-mouthed and out of words. She didn't show any signs of crying. And her face sure didn't twist into a look where she felt really low. She felt mad. _Fine. Be that way. Not like I enjoyed hanging with them anyway, Suzie said, flipping her hair again and looking like as if she didn't care that all her new 'friends' just ditched her. _

~*~

   "What just happened?" Brock said, astounded. 

   "It seems that Clair, Karen, Melody and Misty left Suzie alone," Tracey said. 

   "Did they have a fight? I bet it was because of Misty," Ash said, taking a bite from his sandwich. He looked at his friends. "Why do you care anyway? Are you now bodyguards of those girls?"

   "Ash, it's impossible not to spot them because they're sitting two tables apart from us," Brock said. "And Suzie is just so cute."

   "Whatever," Ash said. 

   "I don't think they had a fight anyway. What is there to fight about?" Tracey silenced Ash, since he knew that Ash was going to say: "Misty" again. 

   "You never know," Brock murmured, getting up from the table.

   "Where are you going?" Ash asked. 

   "To Suzie. She must be lonely," Brock said with yet another dreamy look on his face.

   Brock straightened his shirt. He approached Suzie's table. "Hey, there, Suzie. Why are you all alone?"

   Suzie stabbed her empty Styrofoam cup with her plastic fork angrily. "Why do you care, anyway, No-Eyes?"

   "Hey! I didn't do anything to you! Don't snap at me," Brock said, looking confused. "I was just being nice."

   Suzie tilted her head and snickered. "Well, you're not being nice. You're being a pest. Get lost." She threw the paper cup on Brock's face and stalked off. 

   Brock picked up the paper cup and looked at Suzie. He didn't know what to think. He just returned to his table. Ash looked at him. 

   "Stop giving me that look," Brock said. 

   "I can't help it. So what did she say?"

   "Doesn't matter."

   "She's mean. I can tell," Tracey said.

   "She was just ticked off, that's all. And I added up to her annoyance, and she blew her top. No biggie," Brock explained, grinning. 

   "Whatever." Ash just took another bite from his sandwich. 

~*~

  It was the last period for the day, and the bell had rung already. Ash and Misty both approached Mrs. Carlton about her decision in pairing both of them. 

  "Certainly not, Mr. Ketchum and Ms. Waterflower," Mrs. Carlton said, pushing up her horn-rimmed glasses up her nose. "Now that I know that you have difficulty getting along, the more you need to spend time together."

   "But we can't really—" Misty started to protest.

   Mrs. Carlton waved her right index finger in front of Misty's face. "I said, _no, didn't I, Ms. Waterflower? Besides, what is there to be angry about each other?" She winked. "Personally, I think you two would make a cute couple!"_

   Ash and Misty blushed 10 times darker than the normal shade of pink. If either Ash or Misty found the whole situation awkward, they perfectly masked their expressions. Misty gave out a false laugh. "You're such a joker, Mrs. Carlton…"

   Mrs. Carlton gave them the 'grandmother-toothy-cutie-' kind of smile. She pinched their cheeks. "Joking? Who's joking?" She saw Todd Wendell walking out the door. "Mr. Wendell, I would like to get your opinion about a certain matter."

   "Sure, Mrs. Carlton. What is that?" Todd asked amusingly, looking at the blushing faces of Ash and Misty. Misty was pretending to choke herself of disgust, while Ash made a very horrified face.

   "You don't have to do this, Mrs. Carlton…" Ash muttered under his breath, but Mrs. Carlton was busy giggling and amusing herself. 

   "I was going to ask for your opinion about the thought of Ash and Misty being a couple," Mrs. Carlton said tactlessly. She was unknowingly embarrassing Ash and Misty, who simply _loathed each other and cannot stand the idea of them being a couple. The thought of it made both of them shudder and blush. _

   Todd was about to laugh out loud. "Yes, of course, Mrs. Carlton. In fact, they would be perfect as King and Queen of the Prom this year."

   "How lovely!" Mrs. Carlton said, dancing with delight. 

   Misty glared at Todd. "Wendell! When I get my hands on you…"

   "See you at the meeting Misty," Todd said hurriedly, trying to suppress his laughter. "You too Ash. I'll see _both of you. Bye!" And he ran out to the door._

   "You see? I told you so!" Mrs. Carlton stopped dancing. 

   "I have to go," Misty said. She turned around and quickly bolted out to the door. Ash, who was afraid of more comments, followed Misty out. Besides, he needed to go to the committee meeting anyway.

   "Stupid hag," Ash muttered.

~*~

"Where's Melody?" When Misty realized that the committee was lacking the staff. Besides, Melody was now the head of the committee.

   "I think she didn't show up because she's really upset about something," Clair said icily, clearly talking about the tiny argument with Suzie at lunch.

   "She's such a baby anyway, why don't I be the head of this committee instead?" Suzie countered Clair's remark.

   Clair slammed her fists on the desk of the chair she was sitting on. "You? No way! And Melody didn't quit; _she just didn't show up. Mainly because of you."_

   Tracey and Ash arrived. "What's going on? Where's Melody?" Ash asked.

   "Stay out of this, Ash," Clair said angrily, glaring at Suzie.

   "Hey, Tracey! There's a spare seat here!" Suzie said, ignoring Clair.   
   Tracey looked at Suzie. "Uh…I think I'll sit with Todd instead, I have something ask him anyway."

   "And boy, do I have something to tell you!" Todd said, remembering the incident with Mrs. Carlton. 

   "Melody!" Misty yelled, spotting Melody by the doorway.

   "Hi!" Melody said with a sniffle.

   "Oh, so you decided to show up," Suzie said. 

   Melody shot her a look of daggers. "I'm no chicken."

   "Whatever. Can we just get on with this meeting?" Ash said.

   "No one's making you stay," Misty retorted.

   "I'm not talking to you," Ash said. 

   Melody silenced the committee and walked up to the desk at front. She was carrying a notepad. "Okay! Let's get started. Prior to this meeting, the former and current members and I agreed that this Homecoming Dance is a no-theme dance."

   "What kind of dance is that? No themes," Suzie interrupted.

   "This dance. Spring Break dance…" Melody enumerated. She completely silenced Suzie. "Any more objections?"

   No one spoke.

   "Right!" Melody said cheerfully. "But we agreed to have a color theme. Unfortunately, we haven't agreed yet which three colors to use. We excluded the school colors: white, aquamarine and red." She tapped the table with her feathery pen. "Any suggestions?"

   "What about purple, yellow and gray?" Suzie asked. "Those colours used to be my old school's colours." (Suzie was from England, so I have to change the spellings a little.)

   Melody nodded. She was an open-minded person. She will not thrash the idea down until she gave it a good thought. "Okay."

   "You're taking her suggestion in?" Clair said, ready to object.

   "Yeah. I won't take my personal problem here. The school is counting on us to organize this dance." Melody jotted down Suzie's color suggestions. "Anyone else?"

   No one spoke. Melody looked at Misty. Misty shrugged. "Green, blue and yellow," She said simply.

   "So common." Suzie said.

   Suzie and Misty began yelling at each other, and Melody had to kick the desk with her left foot to silence them up. "Ash?" Melody asked.

   "Yeah?"

   "We're going to hold this dance at the lawn at front. You know, by the fountain and statue. Could you and Misty check if we still need to get the gardener to clean out some plants for space?" Melody requested politely.

   Todd began shrieking with laughter.

   "Why? Why me?" Ash complained.

   "Yeah! Why him?" Misty asked.

   "Tracey can show me his ideas for the banner, and Todd will help Clair figure out the decorations. Suzie and I also will work on the food," Melody explained.

   "Why can't I help Clair instead?" Ash asked. 

   "Because Todd is a photographer, and he's the yearbook committee's photographer, and I want to make sure that this dance will look good in the yearbook." Melody frowned. "Okay?"

   Ash grumbled and followed Misty outside to the front lawn. 

~*~

   "We need a little space here," Misty said, drawing a huge square on her pad and marking the places that need working on. 

   Ash spotted the statue of the principal. It was Principal Lennon's father, who was the principal in this school twenty-two years ago. It was just a half-statue, no body at all. But was positioned in the middle of the front lawn, right in front of the elegant water fountain. It wasn't completely blocking the fountain or anything, but it wasn't good to look at.

   "Why don't we move this thing?" Ash said, pushing the statue.

   "What? No!" Misty said, but it was too late.

   _CRASH!_

Wacky Witch: Ugh, finally, this chapter is finished. I figured out that I couldn't squeeze everything in 8 chapters, so I have to extend both the TIME and the CHAPTERS. No final date yet of when the last chapter will be finished. Anyway, I'm so sorry if this chapter is LAME again.

Reviewers:

Thanks to Violet Emeralds' lengthy reviews! THANKS SO MUCH!!! Continue…please continue your fic! (I don't think your Self-esteem Spell Worked. ^_^)

LavenderEspeon, you've reached you goal of a hundred reviews!!! Even more than a hundred. I'm still waiting for Driving Me Crazy.

M*Y*S*T-L*A*D*Y, thanks for the HUG!!! I think you deserve a hug too!

Jenna, thanks for admitting that this story is poorly written.

And to all the other reviewers,

THANKS SO MUCH AND PLEASE SAY THAT YOU WILL STILL ANTICIPATE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!

And for the errors, I wrote this while waiting for my breakfast, so I was hungry. ^_^

(Lizzie McGuire explanation: Lizzie McGuire and Kate Sanders were paired together for the party preparations of the Spring Fling Dance. Kate broke something valuable and Lizzie took the blame for it.) Only a small explanation, since I don't want to spoil the whole episode if you're a LMcG Fan.


	7. Melody's Plan

**Disclaimers: I don't own Pokémon, PS2 and etc.**

Chapter Seven 

Melody's Plan

Misty was out of words. She saw the broken pieces of the statue. _So much like my dream_, she thought. She couldn't speak. 

   "You broke it," she said softly. Her expression was unreadable. 

   "Yeah. And now I'm in trouble," Ash said, kneeling down on the grass. He looked at the pieces. 

   Misty's mind was blank. She grabbed Ash's collar. "Let's go before anybody sees us!"

   "What?"

   "Look, Melody and I will figure this out. In the meantime, try not to get us in trouble. Let's go!" Misty dragged Ash back inside the school building and inside the classroom where they were holding the meeting. 

   "You're back!" Todd said. 

   "Y-yeah," Misty said nervously, hoping that nobody saw them at the front lawn. _What were you thinking, Misty? Front lawn. Of course someone saw you! _It seemed like it was a little voice whispering inside Misty's head. 

   "Well? Is there anything the gardener should do?" Melody asked.

   Misty was looking at her sneakers apprehensively. She hoped nobody would prod through the situation. "What?"

   "Is there anything the gardener should do?" Melody repeated her question. She looked at Misty warily. "Is there a problem, Misty?"

   Misty waved her hands dismissively. "Oh, no! No problem at all…hehehe…uh, no. Everything looks fine at the front lawn to us, right Ash?"

   "Yeah, whatever you say," Ash said, trying to figure out what was Misty thinking.

   "Right…" Melody said, sensing that there was something very leery about the whole situation. 

   Misty gulped. "Uh, Melody?"  
   "Yeah?"

   "Can we move the place of the dance? I was thinking that the back lawn would be better…"

   "Why? The front lawn is almost in front of the school, and the water fountain is there," Melody said perplexedly. She gave Misty her creepy wary look again. She was about to ask what was wrong again, but she decided to leave the subject until the whole meeting was over.

   Todd and Clair presented their ideas for decoration, but each time they tried to explain why they _should_ use it, Suzie would interrupt them with their own idea. Melody, who was trying to be as nice as she could present to Suzie, told Todd and Clair to check if they could consider it. Suzie, on the other hand, was thinking that Melody was giving in to her. 

   Suzie presented the list of foods they were going to have at the dance. Melody agreed with every bit Suzie had on her list.

   "What? Why do you have to agree with everything she says?" Clair said. 

   "I'm not agreeing with everything she says, Clair. I'm just being diplomatic, that's all. Besides, don't you want _pizza_ on our menu?" 

   "This is sick." Clair looked at her watch. It was half past four. "I have to go, I promised my mom that I'll help her out at the store today."  
   "Okay, I guess that's all for today. Well, we've accomplished a lot! Maybe by tomorrow we can start putting up the lights and stuff. Okay? See you guys tomorrow," Melody said, putting her notepad back her backpack. She spotted a frozen Misty by the doorway.

   "Okay, spill."

   "Can we talk about this over pizza? Let's go to my house and order some," Misty said. 

   Melody immediately agreed. She and Misty had been friends since 2nd grade, and she knew whenever Misty wanted to talk something over pizza, it was something really serious or really dramatic.

~*~

   "You—you—you—" Melody was out of words too.

   "Yes. Ash Ketchum broke the statue of ex-Principal Robert Lennon I," Misty nodded, taking a bite from her pepperoni pizza.

   Melody screamed.

   "Please, help me figure this out…" Misty begged, offering Melody more soda. "Soda?"

   Melody took the can and took a big breath. "You know how emotional our Porky Lennon is about his father."

   "Melody, you don't have to remind me about that."

   Melody grabbed another slice. "I can't think of anything to get us out of this. You can hope that nobody saw you, but the dance is a big problem." Melody took out a sheet of paper from her pocket. She gave it to Misty. "Read."

   "What's this?"

   "Just read it, you'll see."

Ms. Gates, as head of the Homecoming Dance committee, I would like you to ask your staff about making a Hawaiian grass skirt for my father, ex-Principal Robert Lennon the First's statue. That statue maybe only a half-statue, but my father loved Hawaiian grass skirts. Do you want to know why he loved grass skirts? 

            Long ago…

(long, boring story)

            Now Melody, you see how fond he was of grass skirts. In fact, I'm thinking on doing a Hawaiian-themed dance some time this year…

   Misty gave the paper back to Melody. The sheet of paper turned out to be a long letter about Hawaiian grass skirts, more about Lennon's father and about the statue. But his whole point was to be able to decorate the statue with a Hawaiian grass skirt during the Homecoming dance.

   "Great. Lennon wants a grass skirt," Misty said.

   "The statue does not have legs, but it's a half-statue placed in a holder, right? So it works. But now, it doesn't. Because the statue is broken."

   "It wasn't my fault!" Misty said. 

   "You know that you're the right-hand of this dance. And even Ketchum broke the statue; Lennon will still punish you for your 'vandalizing' and for being 'careless'."

   "Why? It was Ash's fault," Misty said.

   "Well, seeing that he's very sentimental when it came to a very important memorabilia of his father and for being not extra-careful. Of course, Ash will get more punishment."

   Misty put down her can. "He was right, though. That statue looked absolutely absurd there. I guess partly he was just trying to help, but he wasn't thinking."

   "Weren't you the one who said that he didn't have a brain?" Melody inquired surprisingly.

   Misty looked at her friend's facial expression. "Well, I guess everybody is blessed with a brain."

   "Oh." Melody said, itching to tease. 

   Misty could see that if Melody found out about the little episode with Mrs. Carlton and Todd, she would tease her a lot. So Misty decided to switch the topic. "Okay, so what do we do about the statue?"

   "I don't know…" Melody said thoughtfully, squeezing the can with her right hand. "This is so not right, but it's the only idea that I can up with on this situation. I think you should keep this a secret."

   "Are you sure?"

   "Not really," Melody said. "But I think we should see what happens first. The best thing to do is, of course, come clean."

   "Maybe after Principal Lennon finds out," Misty said, feeling guilty. 

~*~

   "Way to go!" Richie said. "I mean, it was vandalizing, but come on, that statue is just so…so…strange," Richie said, putting his video-game controller down to gulp some of his soda. 

   Richie and Ash were at Ash's house, playing video games. Ash was on the beanbag chair, cheering Pikachu on. Yes, that's right. Pikachu was better than Ash when it came to playing Richie's favorite video game. 

   "Pika-chu!" Pikachu squealed. 

   "Great move, Pikachu. Make sure you don't lose life points in this level, I bet Richie's gonna need you." Ash said.

   "Pika-pika-pika-chu pi-pika-chu," Pikachu said, nodding delightfully. {I'm better than you in this game, so I'll do fine, Ash.}

   Ash just leaned back on his beanbag chair and watched the game. He looked at Richie. "Well, Misty was so frantic about it, I didn't even get the chance to say that it was my fault and I'll take the blame for breaking the statue."

   "It wasn't anything heroic and there's no reason to be actually celebrating because it was wrong and everything, but that statue looked hideous there," Richie said swiftly, pushing the buttons of the controller rapidly. "Pikachu! Move him to the left!"

   "Pika!" 

   Ash took off his cap and got up to grab the remote control of his air-conditioner. He turned it on and flopped on his cushy bed. "I don't know why it's so hot. I mean, isn't it supposed to be winter these days?"

   "Yeah. But you know these weather changes. This heat wave is telling us to be prepared for the cold weather," Richie said. His game character finally ran out of weapons and stood up. "Pikachu, you know how to save it to the Memory Card, right?" He dropped his controller on the floor. 

   "Pika!" Pikachu responded, hunting inside the PS2 box for the Memory Card. Pikachu finally found the Memory Card and saved the game. The little yellow pokémon cleverly plugged out the plugs and closed the big glass cabinet's door, where Ash's DVD player, PS2 and stereo are kept.

   Richie sat on Ash's beanbag chair. "So what are you planning to do about it?"

   "I don't know. But that bossy girl will think of something," Ash said.

   Pikachu went out of the room to do something else rather than listen to Ash and Richie's conversation.

   "You're a lucky guy, Ash," Richie said. **(This may not be the exact line Rudy used in an episode called, "Misty Meets Her Match", but close enough.)**

   "Huh?"

   Richie just shook his head. There was a ringing noise coming from Richie's pocket. He pulled out a tiny cell phone and answered it. "Yes. We had?" Richie sweatdropped and began nodding nervously, earning him a weird look from Ash. "Yes. Sure I remember. Honest. I did. Okay. Bye." Richie exhaled.

   "What was that about?"

   "Duplica," Richie said, standing up. "I forgot that I promised to come with her the next time she goes shopping."

   "You did?" Ash said.

   "Yeah. She wants me to help her to pick out a new dress for the dance." Richie groaned. "Gotta go and meet her at the mall. See ya." 

~*~

   On Tuesday morning everybody was talking about the broken statue. Most of the kids found it funny that the statue was broken. Everybody was chattering and talking about it. 

   "Will all the students please report the to auditorium? Attendance is necessary," an angry tone wafted through the loud speaker. Principal Lennon found out the very next morning about the broken statue.

   The students filed inside the auditorium, mostly aware that they were called to the auditorium because of the broken statue. Brock and Tracey were also surprised to find that Ash was the one who broke the statue. It was partly an accident, since he meant to move the statue, but he didn't realize that the statue-holder is cemented on the ground. 

   "You're in so much trouble," Tracey said, taking a seat.

   Ash and Brock sat on either side of Tracey. 

   Principal Lennon went up to the stage. He was carrying a big brown sack, possibly containing the broken pieces of the statue. He had a thick folder under his right arm and a grass skirt on his left. He stood there, looking at the crowd.

   "Most of you probably know why your presence is vital." Principal Lennon said, pacing the stage. He was holding the microphone tightly on his left hand. "You all saw the broken statue, right?"

   The students did not respond. 

   "VANDALISM!" He said barked, and everyone jumped. 

   "You all know how much that statue meant to me," he said in a thick, emotional tone. Is he going to cry? Ash thought.

   Principal Lennon put the sack down and took out the objects inside it. Sure enough, it was the broken pieces of the statue. He held the four pieces that make up the head and placed them on the table the janitor placed in front. "These are the exact pieces. The exact pieces of the symbol that immortalizes my father's reign in this school!" He said, holding up the piece that what looked like the nose. Some of the students in front giggled. 

   "You think it was funny?" Principal Lennon roared, but his voice was syrupy and gushy. 

   ****

   "Yuck! Is he going to cry?" Ash said. 

   "Looks that way," someone said, flopping on the empty seat beside Ash. It was Gary Oak. 

   "Gary!" Ash said.

   "That's my name."

   "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to sit with your friends?" Ash said. 

   "Correction, Ash. Gary does not have any friends," Richie commented from behind them.

   "Shut up, Richie. Or I'll tell Duplica." Gary snickered. 

   " 'Shut up, Richie. Or I'll tell Duplica,' " Ash said, mimicking Gary's taunting tone. Gary scowled. "Shut up, Gary. Or I'll tell King Snuggles."

   Richie, Rudy and Todd laughed from behind. 

   "Who's King Snuggles?" Todd asked, suppressing his laughter.

   "King Snuggles? King Snuggles is Gary's stuffed panda." Ash explained, and the boys from the back erupted with laughter. 

   Gary blushed. "You jerk! You'll pay for that," he said threateningly, clenching his teeth. But his face was all red and couldn't exactly show a convincing expression that he'll make Ash pay. 

   "Maybe he's going to ask King Snuggles' army to help him," Richie joked, laughing. 

   That did it. Even Brock and Tracey began laughing so hard. The people around also joined the laughing. 

   Gary balled his fists and left. He felt so embarrassed; he didn't even have the courage to give Ash a punch. 

   "Look! He's actually going to do it! He's going to call King Snuggles' army!" Rudy said, pointing at Gary's back. He settled down to seat seven rows away from them. 

   "Wait till Whitney hears this," Richie said. 

   And the scores are: Ash Ketchum receives a ten! Gary Oak: a big fat ZERO! Let's give Ash a big hooray! 

   Ash grinned, not caring anymore what was the principal saying about the statue.

~*~

   "The first time the principal cancelled the dance was due to lack of preparation. This time, it's because someone broke the statue!" Janine Ethel said, waving her fork. 

   Suzie found herself a new circle of friends. Friends who just matched her attitude and are 'within her league'. 

   "However, it was kinda cool though. I mean, that statue is so lame anyway, don't you think so, Suzie?" Bridget Ferris said, looking at Suzie. She groaned. "Don't sweat it, Suzie! Melody is no competition. Tracey is a smart guy. He'll pick you over that…that…walking fashion disaster." Bridget was clearly referring to Melody's new platform shoes. "Those shoes CLASH with her outfit."

   "Huh? What?" Suzie said, snapping back to reality.

   "She said that you have much better chance than Melody," Cassidy Jones put in. "She's so like, annoying, you know?"

   "She's more popular though, I have to say." Suzie sighed.

   "What? Don't let your Suzie-ishi-ness down, Suzie! Melody may be popular, but I have a plan…" Cassidy said is a malevolent tone, huddling the girls together. 

~*~

   "Don't panic," Clair said. "We'll figure out a way…"

   Karen forked a piece of lettuce. She saw two strands of hair stuck on the leaf. "Gross!" Karen said, wrinkling her nose. 

   "What's up?" Melody asked. 

   "My salad's got hair strands all over it." She looked at her soup. "Even my macaroni soup!" 

   "Those kids need to stop sticking their heads under the sneeze guard." Clair pushed away her own salad.

   Melody looked at Misty. "Look, you can talk to Ash about it and decide. I'll go with you."

   "Oh, please. Ash Ketchum?" Misty said, shaking her head. 

   "Well, you can't avoid this fact. YOU were with him. HE partly broke the statue. So unless you want everybody to hang around and wait for the dance until the end of the year, I suggest you talk."

   "I can't talk to that guy. He's such a jerk. He's insensitive—"

   Melody nearly ripped her hair in irritation. "Misty Waterflower!" Melody said, vexed. "You're being ridiculous. How hard is it to say: 'Ash, what are we going to do about the statue?'" She looked at Misty. "Huh? Just how hard is it? It's not like you're going to marry him after that!"

   Misty looked down. She took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's meet him after school."

~*~

**Wacky Witch: Chapter finished!!! Some words to describe it: Lame. Bad. Stupid.**

**Reviewers:**

**LavenderEspeon: Thanks for the nice reviews!!! I'm still waiting for Driving Me Crazy!**

**Violet Emeralds, once again, you've done a great job on your own FIC!!! And thanks for the encouragement and telling me not quit Fanfiction.net. Thanks for reviewing my fic and anticipating for the next chapter. **

**M*Y*S*T-L*A*D*Y! I've read your review on Violet Emeralds' Anything But Ordinary****, and I see you're also a CCS fan!!! And thanks for the review and all that. ^_^**

**Shadow-I LUV Ash Ketchum, thanks for your nice comments and reviews. **

**And to all the other reviewers:**

**Thanks for the great reviews and encouragements for me to continue. Please say you will still hang on and keep reading this fic. **

**THANKS SO MUCH!!!**

**As for the errors, completed this while watching a movie in_ Lifetime _called_ Someone to Love Me: Moment Of…_**


	8. Twisted Fate of Life

Disclaimers: I need a genie to be able to own Pokémon and other stuff I DON'T own here.

Chapter Eight

Twisted Fate of Life

"Someone to have and hold…" Misty sang as she closed her locker. "With all my heart and soul…"

   "Are you singing that song to a particular someone?" a guy's voice whispered behind her. 

   Misty jumped, startled. She thought she was alone. She was singing that particular song to no one. At least, no one _yet._ Earning her reputation, as 'one of the hardest girls to date' was easy as pie. **(A/n: I don't know who thought about the saying, 'easy as pie'! I've seen my aunt bake a pie, and it certainly wasn't easy! But yummy…oh, okay. Let's get back to the story!)**. Upon not having her first boyfriend yet, she's also never had her first kiss. She always made it clear that her first kiss should be something special. It should be someone she truly liked. _Or_ if fate gives Mr. Right early, _someone_ she _truly_ _loved_. Relationships should be special. She only has guy friends (Like Todd, for example) but no actual dates or anything. She wanted everything to be great. All relationships should be special. Not just a joke or a fashion accessory. 

   Todd Wendell grinned.

   "Todd, you moron! You scared me half to death. Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?" She said as she spun around, facing Todd.

   "Well, just came by to tell you that since the dance is cancelled, Clair and I are going out for a burger or something. Okay?"

   Misty sighed. "Oh. Right. Broken statue." She nodded. "All right, Todd."

   Todd began to walk away, whistling to himself. Just when Misty thought she was safe from Todd's nosiness, Todd began walking back to her with a knowing look on his face. 

   "I almost forgot. Are you singing that song to a particular someone?" He asked with a mischievous grin on his face. 

   Misty looked down on her feet. _What is there to be guilty about? You're not singing that song to a particular guy!_ She cleared her throat and gave Todd a satisfactory smile. "No."

   "Well, that song is a pretty deep one. And emotional too." Todd returned the satisfactory smile. 

   "Yeah, um…" Misty didn't want to discuss her facts of life with her crazy photographer friend, so she decided to change the topic. "Clair's waiting for you, Todd."

   Todd just shook his head and bid her goodbye. Misty relaxed. She just smiled to herself and began singing again. "…I need to know," she sang, preparing her throat for the high note. "Before I fall…in love…!" She ended, the high-note coming out perfectly. 

   Someone clapped behind. Once again, Misty jumped. She whirled around and faced the person with an evil glare. "What is it today with you people? Are you trying to give me a heart-attack or something?" She said, putting her right hand on her chest. She took a deep breath.

   "No, silly!" Melody said, smiling. "That's a nice song. Singing it to a particular someone you're not telling me?"

   Misty frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Really, Melody. Have you forgotten our pact? _Try not to keep secrets from each other_. Well, so far, you know I'm clean."

   "Yeah. But what if you're not?" Melody said and she gave Misty the same look Todd gave her. 

   "Hey, you know me. I'm not keeping anything for you." 

   "Really?"

   Misty nodded. "Really. Besides, that song was for 'the' someone. My first kiss should be special. And every kiss I share with that person too. It should be someone I really, really like. And he really, really likes me too."

   "I know, I know," Melody said, nodding. "Everything should be special."

   "Right."

   Melody grinned. When they turned the corner, Ash and Brock were there. Brock, who for the first time did not go after another girl because he was too awestruck of Suzie, just remained calm when Melody and Misty approached the two guys. 

   Misty, not willing to talk to Ash, looked down on her shoes while Melody did the talking. 

   "So. We have come to the agreement that the two of you should come clean." Melody looked at Ash.

   "What about Misty?" Ash asked, unsure why he asked about her. 

   "Well, since she's there and she's got a share of that mistake too, she agreed to do some of your punishment," Melody said, nudging Misty to look and participate at the conversation. 

   Misty looked up and gave Ash an evil glare. "Well, it was your fault anyway, and I think you should do most of the work."

   "Fine by me," Ash said, using the same tone Misty used. 

   "What do you think, Brock? Is this plan okay, or what? It's the cleanest plan on the block, I suppose. It's better than lying and stuff." Melody smiled at Brock, making him blush. 

   Brock looked at Ash and Misty who had their backs turned. "I guess so." He grinned at Melody. "It could help these two make up."

   "Oh, really?" Misty put in, her voice as cold as the glaciers in Antarctica. "I did not know that it is possible to get along with that dense oaf."

   Melody opened her mouth to say something, but Ash cut her off. 

   "Like getting along with you is as easy as pie," Ash said icily.

   Brock held up a finger and looked at Melody. "Whoever said that must be a chef or someone like that. Baking pies are not easy, I have to say."

   "Deal? Is that all right?" Melody asked the feuding duo.

   "Fine."

   "Fine!" Misty said in a more irritable tone. She looked at Melody. "Look, I have to go." He held up her right hand like it was a headset and wiggled it. "Call ya later, Mel." She wrinkled her nose at the sight of Ash sticking his tongue out and left. 

   Melody faced Brock and Ash after she waved goodbye to Misty. "Okay. Where's Tracey?"

   "He found out there's a comic convention downtown so he went already. There will be publishers there. I think he was going to ask them if they could—!" Brock cut short, upon having a sudden brainwave. "That urchin! He was going to present the whacked-out comic of us!"

   "What comic?" Melody said, puzzled.

   Brock shook his head. "No time to explain. I have to go. See ya!" 

   "I have to go to," Ash said. 

   "Nice talking to you guys!" Melody yelled after Brock and Ash's retreating backs. "Comic convention? Tracey?" She grinned. "Hey, Brock! Wait up!"

~*~

"It's amazing here!" Melody breathtakingly. "And there's Archie, Betty and Veronica!" Melody said excitedly. 

   "Want to check it out?" Tracey asked. Brock just shrugged. 

   "Sure." Then she remembered about the comic. "Brock was saying something about a comic. That's why he rushed over here."  
   "He means my comic called _The Adventures of Underwear Boy and the Girl-Crazy Rock_. I was just joking, Brock. I'm not going to ask the publishers if they would be willing to publish that. But I do have another comic."

   "Really?" Melody said excitedly. "Can I see it?"  
   Tracey's cheeks turned slightly pink and shook his head. "No, I-I-I…uh…um…left it at home." He scratched his head and produced a goofy expression on his face. "This convention will last for two weeks anyway, so when it's finished, I'll…uh…show it to you _then_."

   "That's nice." Melody winked. 

(Meanwhile…)

   "I can't believe you dragged me in to this, Cassidy," Bridget complained, her ankles aching from wearing her uncomfortable but stylish platforms. 

   "It's your fault for wearing those things anyway," Cassidy said. She looked at Bridget's platforms. "Why don't you wear your gym sneakers?" She punched Bridget's gym bag. "You still have your gym bag anyway."

   Bridget wrinkled her nose. "Are you crazy? Sneakers totally clash my outfit."

   "What are you talking about? Rubber shoes or sneakers are practically matched with every outfit. I mean, unless you're wearing a big gown or something like that." Janine threw her hair back and shook her bangs. 

   "Okay, fine." Suzie said, exasperated. She looked at Cassidy. "Are you sure this plan of yours is effective?" 

   Cassidy nodded. 

   Suzie just sighed, not expecting anything big from Cassidy's plan. She glanced at the girls who were her newfound friends. They totally opposed Melody and the others, and they have a lot of things in common. Besides, they entirely agree with her about the whole Tracey thing. Suzie smiled a little, knowing that her new friends will just be as good as her old ones back in England. 

   The automatic door opened, and they stepped inside the cool, air-conditioned building. People dressed in the characters of a certain comic were all over the place, signing autographs for little kids or giving away discounted editions of their comics. 

   "Right. We know Tracey is here, but the problem is, where is he?" Suzie asked, putting her hands on her hips. She faced Cassidy, who was having an amiable conversation with a guy selling comics. She tugged on her right wrist. "Cassidy!"

   Cassidy sighed, and said, "All right, then. My friend needs me now…I'll talk to you later…" 

   Suzie, Bridget and Janine dragged her away. 

   Suzie groaned. "We're not here to flirt, you twit. We're here to execute your plan!" _I just know this plan is just going to bomb._ Suzie glanced around, apparently hoping Tracey would appear. 

   Cassidy faced her with an annoyed look. "Hey! That was not very nice."

   "Cassidy!" Bridget said sternly.

   "All right, all right. First, we have to find Tracey Sketchit," She said, looking at the salesman again. Bridget put her hand on Cassidy's cheek and shifted her head's direction towards them. Janine and Ethel dragged her away as far as possible from the salesman. 

   The foursome began searching the vast convention, bumping to many comic characters on their way. Bridget took the direction where Cassidy's interest was in order to focus on the 'oh-so-cool' **(not really!)** plan. Janine finally spotted Tracey, but she didn't notice that the girl beside him was really Melody.

   "I found him," Janine panted. She was out of air, because the con was really big and there were lots of people roaming around and it was a little hard to find someone in the partially thick crowd. 

   "Most excellent," Cassidy said, arching her left brow and flashing her friends an evil grin. 

   Janine led them to the place where saw Tracey, but he wasn't there anymore. Clearly he and Melody moved on. 

   "Heck!" Janine snapped her fingers, and began saying that she was sure that she saw Tracey there. 

(Back to Tracey, Melody and Brock…)

Melody looked over her shoulder. 

   "What?" Tracey asked. 

   "I thought someone was following us," she explained, completely puzzled. She felt that someone was following them.

   Brock also looked over his shoulder. "That's strange. How can you tell someone's following you in this crowd?"

   Melody just shook her head. "Oh, never mind." She smiled at Tracey. "So tell me, what's your favorite comic?"

   Tracey looked at Melody's eyes, and for ten seconds he was lost in them. He blinked, and laughed. "What was that?"

   "Are you okay, Tracey?" Brock felt his head. "Are you sick or something?"

   "Oh, no. I just spaced out. Anyway, what was your question?" Tracey turned back to the confused female who was with them. 

   "What's your favorite comic?" Melody repeated, giving Tracey a strange look. 

   "Oh, I really like—" But someone interrupted him.

   "Hi, Tracey!" It was Suzie.

   Melody froze, and a deep frown began to form on her face. Brock and Tracey whirled around. Brock began drooling again, but Melody pushed him behind her, clearly wanting him to keep out of this. Once Suzie spots Melody, it was a sure argument. 

   Melody never thought that Suzie was this persistent. She kept following him at school, as if spying at him. She keeps seeing her behind him whenever they have the same classes together. She and Tracey never sit together because it seems that at least one or two of his friends are always in the same classes with him (she's all in his classes). But Suzie rarely disappears. And her friends, Janine, Bridget and Cassidy are always with her.

   _I know what this rat is up to, She thought. _

   It took Suzie a minute to realize that the girl standing next to Tracey was Melody. Actually, it took her by surprise.

   "What are you doing here?!" they asked simultaneously. 

~*~

"Yes, Mom. Yes!" Misty said for the hundredth time. She pushed the button to end the call and shut her cell phone off. Her brows furrowed in annoyance. 

   Her mother just came from the doctor and discovered she's two months pregnant. And knowing Misty would be home earlier than her college sisters, she called her to buy some strawberries, since she was craving some. While she's at it, she's also to pick up some dry-cleaned clothes and a stack of books about neurology and baby names at the library.

   Misty clutched her binder to her chest as she entered the library. Mrs. Portia, the mean librarian, clearly remembered Misty from the butt-kicking incident over a week ago. 

   "Aren't you the girl I kicked out with that gum-popping boy?" Mrs. Portia said unenthusiastically, glaring at Misty with her two eagle-like eyes. 

   Misty stiffened and gave Mrs. Portia a strained smile. "Um, yes, Mrs. Portia." She looked at the seething librarian. "I apologize for that. The boy is just not…er…um, _well behaved."_

   "Apology accepted," the librarian said dully. She sounded like she had to spit the words out with a massive effort. Then she banged her right fist on the counter. "Don't do it again!"

   Misty nodded and scooted off to find the stack of books her mother wanted. _Where's that section for neurological books? She thought, hunting around the shelves. _

   "Third shelf to your right," someone called after her. It was Mrs. Portia. 

   Misty, who found it odd that Mrs. Portia called out to her, just followed what she said. And Mrs. Portia was right! The section for the exact books Misty was looking for was on the third shelf to the right. She grabbed the specified hardbound books her mother asked her to get, and began finding the baby naming books her mother wanted. Misty staggered at the weight of the books, but so far, she managed it. She found the books, and stacked it in her pile. She had about four hardbound books in her hands and two baby naming books on top of the hardbound books. 

   Mrs. Portia checked the books out and Misty was off the grocery. Luckily, Vons was just two blocks away and she could take a cab home. 

   With her binder on the very top of the books, the wind began picking up its speed and blew her binder open, and her notes and other important pieces paper began fluttering in the middle of the pedestrian lane, but she wasn't supposed to cross yet. Misty looked at both ways and saw no car was coming, so she decided to pick the papers up and run back. 

   When she began walking down the lane, nervous that a car would pass, she quickly picked up her pace. She calmed down when she got her papers, but a speeding car appeared suddenly and was about to hit her when someone pushed her out of the way. 

~*~

**Wacky Witch:** I had a dull time constructing the last few paragraphs, and this is probably the dullest part of the whole chapter. The lyrics of the song Misty was singing was from Coco Lee, who sang "Before I Fall In Love". The characters Archie, Betty and Veronica are from the world-famous comics, "Archie Comics" (I read Archie comics!) 

Reviewers:

**Fire Fox:** You thought I was _speaking in mixed vocabulary? Like I actually meant "lame" as "good"? No way. Let me give you the exact meaning of what I mean was lame/stupid/dumb/dull/dry/boring etc._

Boring/Stupid/Dull/Lame/Dry etc. = to weary with tedious dullness (synonyms: uninteresting, tedious, dreary) (serious thanks to Merriam-Webster Dictionary) 

Which, you see, are all practically the same meaning. So whatever meaning I set above, that's what I meant of lame. 

Thanks so much for reviewing and reading!!!

**Violet Emeralds:** I guess that answers the question to, "am I speaking in antonyms?". And yes, speaking in 'acronyms' would be pretty hard. ^_^ Oh, yeah. How many times did I tell you that I really, really love your fic? Post the next chapter soon!!! Thanks so much for reading and waiting for the next chapters! (And, I'll anticipate for the sequel of _Anything But Ordinary, so don't forget to e-mail me!)_

**M*Y*S*T-L*A*D*Y:** Thanks for reviewing, reading and waiting for the next chapters. If you do make your CCS/Sailor Moon Crossover, don't forget to alert me about it!

Hmm…I guess since you're controlling the whole story, it wouldn't be really weird if you do make a CCS/Sailor Moon Crossover and make Yukito(Japanese name)/Yue/Julian Star more _manly and pair him up with a Sailor Scout. Anyway, I have the (English-version) Manga; I can scan the page where what made me __partly believe he's gay. (Up until now I find it really weird…) Just say 'aye'._

**LavenderEspeon:** _Driving Me Crazy! Wah!!! You have to continue your fic!!! ^_~ _

**DeathAngelHell/Kat Lee:** I visited your MSN group (that's all I have to say for now) and you did mention something about Team Rocket, right? Yep, you did. Anyway, I think I do have something planned for the TR, but that's not yet confirmed because I'm trying really hard not to make this fic lamer than it is, okay? Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and waiting for the next chapter! 

And to everyone else, (including the people I mentioned above)

Thanks so much for waiting and reading and reviewing this fic. Please say you'll wait and read on until the end of this fic. THANKS!!! ^_^ (Even though my fic is totally D-U-L-L!)

- Wacky Witch's Self-esteem/self-confidence is most likely as low as the lowest everything can go in space. Or it disappeared in a black hole? –  If you read my biography, you'll know that OVER MUSHY stories make me want to gag, but since I like AAML/AAMRN, I deal. – As for the errors, my grandma is running around packing her stuff for Chicago tomorrow, so I'm kind of distracted. But then again, even if I'm not distracted, the whole fic is super lame, super stupid anyway – And no, I'm not bent at the reviews. I love your reviews!!! ^_^  - I, personally admit, that this fic is dull! -


	9. One Down, One To Go...Or is It?

**Disclaimers:** Let's see…um, nope. I don't own Pokémon. Sue someone else. 

Chapter Nine

One Down, One To Go…or is it?

"For your information, it is really none of your business what I'm doing here," Suzie said, giving Melody a superior look as she placed her hands on her hips. 

   Melody arched an eyebrow and slowly narrowed the slits of her eyes. She glared right as Suzie. "Whatever, Suzie. Why don't you just turn around and go hang with your friends. You're stepping into an Anti-Suzie zone."

   Suzie gave out a low, false laugh before she cleared her throat and took a step forward. She pointed her right index finger down to the floor. "Oh I'll make it my zone when I want it." She spat on the floor and stepped on her spit. "So what are you gonna do about it?"

   "Look, Suzie. Come on, can you just leave?" Tracey said. 

   "You poisoned him, you bi—" Suzie didn't get the chance to finish her sentence.

   "He asked you to go, didn't he?" Melody interrupted, not wanting to hear anything else from Suzie's dirty mouth. 

   Cassidy stepped in; her dark eyes darted completely at Melody. She looked at her closely from head to foot and smirked. _This is no competition for Suzie. Small girl. _"Let's go, Suzie."

   Suzie whirled around, her hair flipped behind her like a hawk flapping its wings angrily. She couldn't believe it! Cassidy was backing out? 

   "Excuse me?" Suzie said fiercely. "What are you talking about, Cassidy? I'm not through with her yet!"

   "You are…" Cassidy said in a low, hissing voice. Janine and Bridget followed closely behind her as she began walking towards the exit doors. Suzie fumed, but followed what Cassidy said. 

   Melody stuck her tongue out. "Good riddance."

   "Isn't she so cute when she's angry?" Brock said with a dreamy look on his face. He stared after Suzie's retreating back. 

   Tracey and Melody fell down (Animé-style) and sweatdropped. 

   Tracey wiped his forehead and said, "Is that all you saw? Suzie and her cute 'angry' face?"

   "There's more…" Brock said, getting sillier by the minute. He nearly literally melted like a candle. 

   "Let's grab something to eat," Melody said and dragged Brock by the collar. "Maybe you'll find something appetizing rather than Suzie."

   Brock clasped his hands together. He sighed languorously as he imagined Suzie. "I'll take a to-go please…Suzie Sushi, Suzie Steak, Suzie Soda…oh, and do they have Suzie Salami? Sigh…"

   Melody stuck her tongue out and gagged herself. Tracey laughed. 

   "Add another order of Suzie Salad for me, Melody…" Brock continued on, "maybe another order of Suzie Sandwich…"   

~*~

_Screech!_ The car swerved and (_slam!) slammed right into a lamppost. Following behind were police cars; obviously anxious to catch whomever the person is inside the red Lexus. The person in the Lexus stepped out and held a gun. He pointed the gun towards the direction of the policemen, who stopped in front him, also holding guns. _

   "Put that gun down, Jack! You're under arrest!"  
   He yelled out a swearword, which made the leader of the police operation even angrier. "Never!" He pulled the trigger, but nothing came out. He tried again. Nothing. He gave the angry policemen a sheepish smile. "Can I plead temporary insanity?"

   The leader of the operation, Sgt. Waterflower, sighed and shook his head. "Take him away," he said, opening his car door when he spotted two teenagers on the sidewalk. He spotted the bruised Misty, and the boy who saved her. 

  "Oh! Goodness, it's the daughter of Dylan!" Sgt. Waterflower said, recognizing Misty. He rushed forward. "What happened here?"

  "Ow!" Misty moaned, clutching her (very) mild sprained ankle. She looked up, and saw Sgt. Waterflower staring at her concernedly. "Uncle!" 

  "What happened, Misty?" Sgt. Waterflower asked, kneeling down. 

  "That car almost hit her!" Ash interrupted. 

  Sgt. Waterflower looked at Ash. "Oh, I remember you! Your wonderful mother decorated our house beautifully! Ash Ketchum, isn't it? Son of the famous Delia Ketchum?" He smiled. "Did you save my niece here?"

   "To put it humbly, yes Sir," Ash said and he looked at Misty. "You okay?"

   Misty leaned forward and threw her arms around Ash. "Thanks so much for saving my life! The speed of that car could've killed me!!!" She closed her eyes and hugged him tighter, forgetting every argument that happened. She owed her life to him. Misty pulled back and tried to stand up, but her left ankle was in slight pain. Ash helped her up, and so did Sgt. Waterflower. 

   Ash nodded. Then he looked puzzled. "Why are you in the middle of the pedestrian lane anyway? You're not supposed to cross yet, didn't you see the pedestrian signals?"

   Misty looked down, earning herself a look of disappointment from her uncle. "Misty Waterflower!" He uncle exclaimed sternly.

   Just then media trucks began popping out from all directions. Reporters from six different rival channels began rushing forward the policemen whom had Jack surrounded. After a short interview with Jack, they spotted Ash, Misty and Sgt. Waterflower. 

   They positioned their microphone in front of Sgt. Waterflower. 

   "What? What's going on?" Misty whispered as she hiked up her left ankle and leaned against Ash to see what's happening. 

   "Seems that there're reporters to interview the catch of the Most Wanted Jack Jackson," Ash explained, craning his neck to see.

   Sgt. Waterflower waved his hands in front of the reporters. "Aw, Jack Jackson's crime days are over. We caught him today stealing that Lexus over there." Sgt. Waterlflower pointed at the heavily dented Lexus. The cameramen and photographers pointed their cameras towards the direction of the car. 

   "Sgt. Waterflower, how long did it take you to be able to catch the dangerous Jack Jackson?" one of the reporters asked eagerly, who was secretly praying that she'd get a promotion after her coverage of this story. 

   "Well, to be perfectly honest, we would've caught him sooner or later, but the chasing ended when he swerved the car to miss running over my brother's daughter," Sgt. Waterflower answered. He motioned for Misty to come over, and Ash helped her hop towards the crowd. The reporters sounded deeply interested and they began focusing the whole coverage to Misty and Ash. 

   The very the same reporter asked Misty, "How did you wind up getting almost run over by a car?"

   "Well, I—"

   Sgt. Waterflower stepped in. "Look, my niece is really tired. So please, can you just leave?"

   "Sorry," one of the reporters shouted, and rushed forward to Misty and Ash. "Can you tell us, Miss?"

   "Uh…yeah," Misty said nervously, awestruck by all the media attention. She smiled at Ash. "Well, I wasn't supposed to cross the street yet, but then I saw no car approaching so I went to pick up my papers that fluttered over to the middle of the street." She looked at the intrigued reporters' faces. 

   "Is there anything else?" someone asked. 

   "Yeah! And when the car was just about two feet away…" She looked at Ash with a grateful grin and said, "This guy pushed me out of the way!"

   The reporters 'oohed' and pointed the microphones at Ash. Their interested expressions surprised Ash. He knew his mother was exposed to this kind of media interest, but he never thought he'd experience it. Ash grinned at the reporters awkwardly. 

   One of the reporters waved his hand. "Uh, you seem to be familiar!" 

   "I am?" Ash asked, stunned. 

   The certain male reporter nodded. "Yes, you've appeared in a magazine article once. With your…" the reporter trailed off, snapping his fingers and looking for the answer that was on the tip of this tongue.

   The promotion-wishing reporter continued for him. "Yes, you're the son of Delia Ketchum, the famous interior designer!" The reporters gasped excitedly. "This so great. Not only you're her son, but also you saved Sgt. Waterflower's niece from getting run over by Jack Jackson!" 

   "Oh."

   "Most excellent!" the reporters yelled. 

   "Isn't that Juliet Saunders?" Misty whispered, spotting the familiar channel 1 reporter. 

   Juliet Saunders stepped forward. "Can you tell us the feeling of saving a person?"

   "It's very great," Ash said, his eyes overworked from the hands flinging everywhere. He looked at the all the hands with microphones and all the cameramen who were there to shoot it for four o'clock news. "I just happened to pass by and the next thing I know I saved Misty."

   "Misty?" Juliet asked. 

   "Yes, her name is Misty Waterflower," Sgt. Waterflower butted in. 

   "Well, Mr. Ketchum, what do you think of yourself now? A special hero?" Juliet asked

   Ash was shocked. How could she ask something like this? Not only it was impolite, but also it was highly rude. "Not really. Still normal."

   "Modest, isn't he?" Juliet said, and because of that the reporters' interest even increased. They began asking a million questions. Misty looked at her uncle helplessly, who silently told them to rush to the police car and he'd take care of the media attention. Misty nudged Ash and they began walking away from the reporters. But the insistent correspondents trailed after them, eager to hear the whole story. Misty and Ash shook them off and entered the police car. One of the officers drove off. 

   "Follow that car!" Juliet yelled, and the reporters began piling inside their own trucks to follow the car. 

   "Stupid reporters," Misty mumbled.

   Ash looked at her. "Is your ankle feeling better?"

   "Not really," Misty said, trying to move her left foot. "Maybe some ice would help, but right now, we need to get away from the media."  
   "Don't you love the attention?" Ash asked, definitely confused. He knew Misty was the most popular girl in school, and the stereotypical popular girl loves attention, especially in front of the television.

   Misty looked at Ash with an astounded look of her face. "Stereotyping!!! Bad, bad…"

   "Sorry." 

   "Well, actually, I don't mind being popular, but media attention is just…so-so, you know?" Misty said, flapping her arms and trying to make Ash get the picture.  She leaned back and sighed. 

   Her uncle's partner, Officer Carroll, drove the police car into a tiny street. A door opened up and they went inside. By the time the media caught up with them, they disappeared. The frustrated media men went back to the site where Sgt. Waterflower and the rest of the other policemen. 

   Ash helped Misty out of the car. "Where is this place, officer?" He asked. 

   "Oh, this is my friend's house. He owns this car repair shop." Officer Carroll escorted them inside. A man with a greasy face greeted them and told them to make themselves at home. Officer Carroll got an ice pack for Misty's ankle, and told them to sit wherever they're comfortable. 

   "Are you sure the media won't spot us here?" Misty asked, peering anxiously outside the window. 

   "No, they won't." Officer Carroll handed Ash a can of Sprite. **(I don't own Sprite!)** Officer Carroll sat down and handed Misty her ice pack. "Are you okay, Misty?"

   Misty carefully placed the ice pack on her ankle. "Yes, I'm fine." She put her arm around Ash. "Thanks to my student, of course!"

   Officer Carroll looked at her, puzzled. "Student?"

   "Well…uh…" Ash began to say, but Misty decided to answer for him.

   "Our teacher assigned me to tutor him." Misty smiled appreciatively. Her aqua-colored eyes sparkled with gratitude as she beamed at her 'hero'. 

   Ash scratched his head. He was being very noble and humble. He REALLY was noble and humble. He laughed lightly, appreciating Misty's thanks. "Nah…that's okay. I mean, I just happened to pass by and I can't just let myself see someone get hit. I was just as lucky as you are too." He stifled a laugh and said, "I almost got hit too!"

   Misty inhaled deeply, thanking God for sparing her life. She closed her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you very much for sparing my life." She opened her eyes and smiled. 

   "You were very lucky, Misty." Officer Carroll took a sip from his can. "You too, Ash."

   "I guess I am, aren't I? Misty smiled gleefully. 

   She was happy that she was alive. And the person who saved her was unharmed too. She felt she deeply owed Ash, and now she had to her senses that he wasn't such a brat. _She was the one was acting like a brat. _

   Exhausted, Misty leaned on the soft couch, and her head leaned on the arm of the couch. Ash saw her fall asleep, and he smiled. He was just happy that nobody was hurt. 

~*~

   The next day, almost everyone in the school knew about Ash's heroic action. Teachers were shaking his hand, students were waving at him and even the janitor was being nice to him that day! The only thing he feared right then was the swarm of paparazzi or media there to interview him. But when he got to school, there were no media coverage swarming about. He figured that they would be there sooner or later. 

"Way to go, Ash! Saw ya on TV!" Todd said, high-fiving Ash when he saw him passing down the hall. 

   "No big deal," Ash said, laughing. "Later, man."

   Todd nodded and raced down the hall. 

   "Man! You were radical!" Several guys kept commending him for what he had done. He didn't expect this much attention. All he knew that he had done something very commendable and right. 

   "So are you and Misty friends yet?" someone spoke behind him. Ash jumped, startled. It was Richie.

   "I guess so," Ash said.

   "I am thankful." 

   "Why?" 

   "Because now Duplica will stop jabbering about it," Richie said, exhaling. He sounded terribly relieved. Or maybe he was just exaggerating. "She works with Melody in the council, so she knows some of the stuff."

   "Oh." Ash remembered something Richie said the other day, but he couldn't put his finger on it. _What was that he said again? Ash thought, racking his brain for the answer. _

   Richie looked at Ash. "Something bothering ya, Ash?"

   "Nothing." Ash smiled. 

   "Richie!" A familiar female's voice called from behind them. It was Duplica. "Richie!" 

   "Duplica." Richie said, shaking his head. "See ya later, man."

   Ash just continued on and finally he spotted Tracey and Brock. "What happened yesterday, Ash? That was so cool! Saw you on TV!" 

   "Er…yeah…" Ash stammered, not knowing what to say. 

   "Misty, eh? Maybe now you two will quit arguing," Tracey said. 

   "Maybe." 

   "Where's Suzie?" Brock asked, searching for Suzie on all corners of the hallway. 

   "What happened to him?" Ash asked, looking at Brock. "He's getting worse."  
   Tracey laughed then shook his head. "We were at the Comic Con yesterday, and Melody and Suzie nearly chomped on each other's faces."

   "Why?" The moment Ash said that word, he instantly knew _why before Tracey can even say anything. _

   "I don't know," Tracey said, scratching his head. Then it came to him. "Yeah, what the heck happened anyway?"

   Ash sweatdropped and waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind. Let's just get to class."

~*~

"Ash, wait up!" Misty said, spotting Ash by the water fountain. Classes were over, and they were supposed to come forward and admit that they had something to do with the statue. 

   "Oh, hey." Ash placed his hands inside his pockets. He stared at her uneasily. He didn't know what she was going to say, what she was going to do. He couldn't react to all the attention, so how could he react around the person that made him a hero. 

   "I was just saying…" Misty looked at the nervous face of Ash. She laughed. "What's the matter?"

   "Nothing," he said tensely. 

   "Relax! I was just going to say that, um, thanks for saving my life. I owe you so much! And about that punishment, I'm will to take all the blame as a starting payback for saving my life."

   Ash sighed. "Don't worry. You don't have to do that. It was my fault anyway."

   "I insist!" Misty pleaded. 

   "No. It was my fault," Ash said, looking at Misty's pretty pleading face. "I can't let you take the blame for something you really didn't do."

   Misty grabbed his left hand. "Please!"

   "Look, if you think you owe me, you don't."

   "I don't?" Misty said, surprised. 

   "Sure! I would've saved anyone anyway. I mean, I can't just stand there and see someone get run over by a car. Besides, you had a chance of living anyway, by the looks of it. I just saved you, but then if I didn't, Jack would've seen you and he _couldn't have hit you." (Does that make sense?)_

   "Don't be silly. The car was about two to three feet away from me. Of course I could've gotten hit." Misty smiled. "Thanks so much."

   Ash smiled. "Okay! If you really want to do some of the work, you can share half of the punishment then."

   "Deal."

~*~

   "I thought we'd never finish!" Ash groaned, his hands aching from all the polishing. They were asked to polish every trophy inside the gigantic trophy cabinet and wash all the windows on the first floor. 

   Misty dropped the bucket and the rag. "I can't believe they made us clean the windows."

   "That's okay. It could've been worse. We could've mopped the building or wax the stairs or buff the marble floors…" Ash enumerated, ticking a finger for each task he said. 

   "…Or get banned from the dance." Misty wiped her forehead.

   "I don't mind getting banned from the dance," Ash said. "I'm not going there except for the extra credit anyway."  
   "Really?" Misty asked. "Why? Your date will be disappointed."

   Ash laughed. "Date? You think I have a date?" 

   "Don't you?"  
   "If you're thinking that I accepted Casey Carmichaels' invitation, no, I didn't." Ash slammed the janitor's closet shut as he and Misty made their way out of the school. 

   "That's weird. No media," Misty said, looking around. 

   "Maybe tomorrow. Probably they're still researching on what school we go to," Ash said. "So, where do you live?"

   "Down Staryu Drive," Misty answered. 

   "I'll walk you." Ash paused, realizing what he said. He just blurted that out like it was nothing. 

   "Are you sure?" Misty asked. 

   Ash nodded, and a very light pink flush came to his cheeks. "Yeah. You might need saving again."

   "Yeah, right," Misty said slowly. "In case we're out of the way, where do you live?"

   "Squirtle Avenue."

   Misty stopped. "That's like, ten blocks away from my house! Are you sure you want to walk me home?" She smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "I don't need saving anymore, thank you very much."

   "Yeah, sure. No problem. I could use some exercise anyway," Ash dismissively. 

   "All right then," Misty said in a challenging tone. "Let's see if you can keep up with me!" She laughed and began running. 

   "We'll see!" Ash raced after her.

~*~

**Wacky Witch:** YUCK!!! Bad chapter. I couldn't think of a better way to end this chapter. Or maybe I can think of a better ending, but I want this chapter done so I can start throwing in more cliffhangers (evil grin) in the next chapters because that's where they start to be good friends, then best friends then the AAML kicks in!!! 

I have two Fanfiction holidays to celebrate. Happy Very Bad Chapter and Lame Fic Day.

**Reviewers:**

**LavenderEspeon:** You must've purchased an expired jar of self-esteem, because it didn't work. In fact, it only got worse. Anyway, you've done a great chapter on Driving Me Crazy and why are you ending it so soon? Anyway, thanks for always reviewing and read!!! Now, go sue the store manager where you bought the Bottle of Self-Esteem you dumped on me. ^_^

**Violet Emeralds:** Whee! I'm the best reviewer! (Bows) Thank you! (Bows again) Dōmo Arigatō (Bows again). YEAY! I love you fic. Anything But Ordinary rocks! Thanks reading and reviewing so much. Christmas party!!! Yippee. Will AAML kick in there? The next chapter is going to be great, I bet. ^_^

**M*Y*S*T-L*A*D*Y:** Yeah! Thanks for reading and reviewing. Been there from the beginning. Thanks so much. (Sniffs) (Wink!) 

CCS…hmm, sure, why not? Yes, I think Yue-san/Yukito-san is a smart student. I read in the Manga about something Sakura said about him. 

(Sakura thinking: Yuki can do anything **(Wacky Witch: Well, not ****_anything_**, **but you get the picture, right?)**. He's good a sports and really smart.) ---said in the Manga. 

So, did that help?

**DeathAngelHell:** Waah. I apologize for mixing up your name. I already corrected it, and I'm sorry! (sniffs) Thanks for reading and reviewing!!!

**And to all the other reviewers, **(including the people above)

Your reviews mean a lot to me! Thank you for the positive outlook (even the author has sunk so low) and for reading and reviewing!!! Please say that you'll still hang on and continue reading.

-Wacky Witch's self-esteem has been discovered inside a black hole in space, where objects absorbed there are never found again. Unfortunately, there is nothing the scientists can do. Bear with her stupid fic. As for the errors, I apologize because I'm kind of distracted, and depressed. And sad, and all that. L So, I'm sorry.- 


	10. The Pre-Dance Madness

**Disclaimers:** Pokémon does not belong to me! Please just quit asking!

Chapter Ten

The Pre-Dance Madness

Finally Ash and Misty gave the insistent and persistent reporters a full interview the next morning. They spotted them milling around the school, asking kids stuff about Ash and Misty. 

   "Can you believe the media attention you're getting?" Tracey asked as he tagged along with Ash and Misty, who entered the school together. 

   "It should be over now," Ash said, wiping his forehead. He looked at the swinging doors of the school. "I hope they don't come in." 

   "Attention, students. Please report to the auditorium for an important announcement." Vice-principal Philly's voice boomed through the P.A. systems. Ash and Misty looked at each other, grinning. They both knew that it was the announcement for the dance. It was kind of late, actually, considering that it was already early December, and the party committee couldn't handle two dances in a short time. **(Well, yeah, since I mentioned in the first chapter that school started for three months already, so the original dance was supposed to be November, but it was put-off for two or more weeks, so it's already early December)**

   Lots of the students began filing inside the auditorium. Misty spotted Melody, Karen and Clair near their lockers and invited them to sit with Ash, Brock and Tracey. They found seats somewhere in the middle. Ash also saw Gary trying to talk to Whitney, but she completely snubbed him. 

   "Check out the dork," Ash said, nudging Tracey. He nodded towards the direction of Gary.

   Principal Lennon strolled over the microphone. He looked completely composed and relaxed, most probably he had accepted the fact that his father's memory does not lie on the statue only. He pushed his glasses farther back to the bridge of his nose, surveyed the students in the auditorium and cleared his throat. 

   "Well, the students who are responsible for the breakage of the statue completed their assigned consequence, and now, the dance is ON again!" His voice boomed throughout the auditorium, and the entire student body cheered. 

   "You do not have the excuse not to wear formal clothing anymore, Richie." Duplica's stern voice was easy to distinguish. They were sitting behind Ash, Misty, Brock, Tracey, Melody, Karen and Clair. 

   "Yes, ma'am." Richie replied squeakily. 

   Principal Lennon pulled the microphone off the stand and began walking around the stage. "Well, the dance was put-off a lot of times, until we reached early December. Now, as you all know, we all have the Annual Winter Dance at least before the Christmas break, and I'm sure the party committee could not handle two parties at such a short time." He looked at the nodding students. 

   "You bet," Misty whispered. 

   "So I propose, we just combine both dances!" The stout principal announced, waiting to hear some cheering noises from his students. 

   The students started at him blankly. 

   "Is there a problem?" He inquired as he fiddled with his Vulpix-printed tie. 

   "But we're one dance short. That means the yearbook will be incomplete," said one kid who was sitting near the stage. 

   Principal Lennon looked at the students who were agreeing with the kid. He sighed. "All right, I'll make it up to you. We'll have an additional dance after the Christmas break."

   The students cheered. 

   "Stupid dances," Ash muttered under his breath. 

   "Did you say something?" Misty asked, looking at Ash.

   "No!" Ash said abruptly. 

   Misty shook her head and turned her attention back to the principal. 

   "The dance is on Friday, and this is the mix of homecoming and Christmas!" He said proudly. "You may all go." The students filed out of the auditorium, talking about the dance. Some of them were discussing the topic of dates, partners, food, decorations and much more. 

   "Aren't you going with someone, Misty?" Melody asked, looking at Misty. 

   "Oh, no. With you on the dance floor, someone's gotta supervise." Misty elbowed Melody lightly. "So, do you have a partner?"

   Melody blushed. But even before she can reply, Clair butted in. 

   "She's supposed to ask Tracey, but chickened out." Clair raised a brow and frowned. 

   "Well, Suzie seems to be interfering whenever I get the courage, so I figured we'd just go as friends. You know, as group with Ash, Brock and Tracey. That way, it isn't really a date." Melody smiled. She glanced at Karen. "Taking anyone special, Karen?"

   "Who? Me?" Karen said in an innocent tone that fooled nobody. 

   "Yes, you, Iverson." Clair put her hand on Clair's shoulder. 

   "Rudy, duh. It isn't hard to figure out," Melody said knowingly. 

   "Yeah. What Melody said," Karen said. 

   The bell rang. Misty groaned. "Music class. Can you believe Mrs. Barton was made music teacher when she can't even tell soprano from alto?" 

   "I'm definitely an alto," Melody said as she waved to Clair and Karen, who had different classes that day. 

   "I'm definitely tone deaf." Misty pushed the door open. Mrs. Barton sat on her usual chair, holding a pink handkerchief on her hand and waiting for her class to settle down. 

   Melody punched Misty playfully on the shoulder. "No, you're not. You're a soprano."

   "When I hear myself sing, I feel like I'm listening to a woodpecker pecking on a tree bark," Misty said sadly. 

   "You're being silly." Melody shook her head. 

~*~

(After school…)

   "So, you carry that number over here, right?" Misty said, poking the paper with her pen. She and Ash were inside an empty math classroom. Now that they got along pretty well, they began hanging out—and for starters, the tutorials.

   "But what happens if the number is lower than it's supposed to be?" Ash asked, confused. He scratched his head. 

   "That means your solution is wrong. The number here—" Misty drew an arrow to the direction of the number she's talking about, "—should be lower than what you're multiplying and higher than…" she trailed, writing a simpler equation for Ash, "…this one."

   Ash looked at the equations and nodded. "Now that's better!" 

   "Got that?" Misty asked. She stood up and walked over to the blackboard. "Now, if you need to find the percentage, you do this." She began writing two different types of operations in order to find the appropriate answer. 

   "Right…" Ash said slowly, following Misty's scribbling. He looked at the numbers groggily. "Can we take a break?"

   "I guess…" Misty said, looking at her watch. It was half past five. "I'm getting hungry anyway."

   "Want to grab a burger or something?" Ash offered. He wanted to thank Misty for tutoring him. 

   Misty shook her head, not really wanting to do anything outside the school with Ash. 

   "You sure?" Ash asked. 

   "Yeah," Misty said. 

   "Okay. See you tomorrow then." Ash walked off the opposite direction.

~*~

Friday morning. All of students were given the whole day off to prepare for the formal Homecoming and Winter Dance. After all it was a very formal event, now that it turned out to be a winter dance, not just a homecoming one. 

   Misty woke up when her alarm clock rang. She quickly washed her face and gargled before she dressed herself in her plain white shirt, blue cotton jacket and straight-cut jeans. She was in so much hurry, that she barely combed her hair as she ran out of the house. 

   Hopping onto her bike, her little cell phone rang and she hastily fished it out of her pocket. "What?" She shrieked, not bothering to look at her cell phone's screen to see the name of the person calling her. 

   "Misty?" It was Melody.

   "What? I need to get to school, as in, pronto! I need to finish decorating the place." Misty was about to cut the line when Melody screamed. She groaned. "What now?"

   "I called to tell you that Principal Lennon told me that he'll have the staff decorate the place, since we already made the decorations. They're moving the dance in the gym because it would be pretty cold outside."

   Misty lost her balance on her bike, causing her to fall on her butt. She gaped at the phone. "Melody Gates, why didn't you tell me before?!"  
   "Lennon called my house last night, and I was going to tell you, but your phone was tied up all night, I couldn't get through. And your cell phone must be off."

   Misty groggily walked back to her house as Melody said good-bye. Melody was supposed to go to Misty's house to prepare, even though both of them are only there to supervise, since they're both dateless for the dance. 

   Mrs. Waterflower placed a plateful of bacon and eggs in front of Misty, while her sisters impeccably performed their morning argument once again. Mr. Waterflower sighed, longing for his daughters to be once under eighteen again, so he can ground them for quarrelling all the time. But they were nineteen, a whole year older than the required age to be a legal adult, and not a minor anymore. 

   As the morning rolled on, Misty was alone in the house. With her father a full-time doctor and her mother an overly committed lawyer, she was all alone in the house. Melody came around a quarter to one, just right after lunch. 

   "What do you think?" Melody pulled out 5 $100 dollar bills from her wallet.

   "What's it for?"

   "The dress! We both had our dresses custom-made, duh! Remember? To make sure we don't have any duplicates." 

   Misty nearly conked herself. "Oh! Yeah. But I'm sure the costs won't be more than $300, since that was your aunt's shop."  
   "Well, yeah. But we are going to the parlor to have our makeovers, right?" Melody said. "I know you're just going to put the cost on your Mom's credit card, right?"

   "Yeah."

   "Too bad we don't have dates."

   "I know." Misty placed the DVD on the DVD player. She pushed play and the previews came on. Before they go to the mall, they both decided to watch 'The Wedding Planner' first. 

~*~

   "I don't know why I have to go to this dance in the first place." Ash said. "But the extra credit lies on it, so I should go."

   "Yeah!" Brock said. "Should I wear this—" He held up an orange button-down shirt "—or this?" He held up another shirt of the same style, except now it was green. He went starry-eyed. "Which would Suzie prefer?"  
   "I hate to break this to you Brock, but please get it through your thick skull. Suzie has no interest in you, got that?" Ash also didn't like the tone of his voice, but he wasn't really up to this dance. People stand around, remark each other's dresses—especially the girls—and laugh when someone really humiliating happened like having someone put a dead cockroach on your drink. 

   Brock didn't pay attention to Ash. He carried on burying himself through his pile of tan, green and orange wardrobe. He was too enthusiastic about the dance, but it wasn't true that he was aware about Suzie's mad crush on Tracey. But Brock's spirits weren't washed away, they were as solid as steel. 

   Ash, who didn't care less about the dance, just watched his girl-crazy best friend sift through the pile of the clothes as he sat on the beanbag chair. Then he started thinking about Giselle, who left _and_ betrayed him all at once. 

~*~

   "Cassidy! Fabulous dress!" Suzie exclaimed as she snatched Cassidy's peach wrap dress, and held it in front of herself. She spun around to look at the mirror. 

   Cassidy smiled and laid her left hand as she carefully applied nail polish. "Of course. You don't think I'll be going to the dance outshined by Whitney or Melody, do you?"

   Suzie placed the dress down. "What? No way!" She collapsed on Cassidy's four-poster bed. 

   "We're here!" A familiar squeaky voice came from outside the room, and a several thuds from the stairs were heard. Cassidy shook her head, smirking. Suzie suddenly sat up, eager to see Bridget and Janine's dresses for the night. 

   Janine burst through the door, holding a big shopping bag. Bridget followed closely behind, lugging on her shopping _bags_. Cassidy gave her a puzzled look, and darted her glance on the bags. 

   "Oh. I decided to buy _three_ outfits, since I couldn't decide." Bridget pulled out a dress that is the exact duplicate of Cassidy's. Everything was the same: the peach dress, the single-layer of see-through fabric over the top half of the dress, the peach lace on the hem and button at the back; which was needed to hold the dress since it was sleeveless and tied right under the arm.  

   Cassidy widened her eyes in horror, and seized the dress from Bridget's grasp. She also grabbed the bag, obviously looking for the receipt. She sighed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness." She looked at Bridget. "You are DEFINITELY not going to wear this!"

   "Why not?" Bridget snatched the dress back. "It's fabulous!"

   Cassidy looked at Suzie. "Show her."

   Suzie held up Cassidy's dress. "Cassidy's got the same thing."

   "Oops. Now we can't have that, can we?" Bridget smiled, immediately understanding. She carefully folded the dress back and placed it back in the bag, tucking the receipt inside. "Luckily that wasn't my first choice, considering I know Cassidy's favorite color is peach."

   Janine sat down on the floor. She glanced at Suzie. "So, can we see your dress?"

   Suzie smiled mischievously. "Oh, no. I left it at home. You'll see it at the dance." Her smile faltered. "Although it wouldn't do any good because I am dateless. You guys all have dates!"  
   "Don't worry. Melody won't try to cross your path once I'm done with her." Cassidy's eyes flashed. 

   "Stop it, you're creeping me out!" Janine said, scooting back to the doorway. 

   "Oh, don't be such a baby." 

   Janine shrugged. "So what are you going to do anyway?"

   Cassidy held up a tiny plastic bag. She leered. "You'll see. The dance will be _so_ much fun."

~*~

   "Love your dress, Misty," a girl greeted, as Misty entered the backdoor of the gym. 

   "Thanks, Samantha," she said, approaching the light equipment. She looked horrified at the busted bulb. She looked at Samantha, the one who helped her adjust the light show yesterday. "Sam? Why is that bulb busted?" She pointed at the busted bulb.

   Samantha followed the direction where Misty was pointing and lightly gasped. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't see that bust. It looked fine when I tested it five minutes earlier."

   Misty flapped her arms, trying not to panic. "Okay. We still have twenty minutes before the dance." She looked at the equipment. "Do we have a spare?"

   "A spare?" Samantha asked, echoing Misty. 

   Misty glowered. "Yes, a _spare._"

   "I'm really sorry. I broke all the other bulbs earlier today when I came to help the staff, and the only one left was the weak one. I thought it wouldn't give in until at least half the night."

   Misty gave her a frustrated look. "What? You klutz!" She hissed furiously. Samantha gave her a pleading look. Misty just nodded with a sigh and waved Samantha off. She looked at the light. "I guess the dance floor can deal with only one green light."

   "The DJ's late!" Melody said, putting down her cell phone. "He's stuck in a traffic jam!" 

   "What about the performers?" 

   "Stuck on the same freeway. 101." 

   "Great. That's just great. I bet Suzie and Cassidy are shrieking with laughter just right about now." Misty shook her head. She clapped her hands. "So what do we do to stall?"

   Melody grinned. 

   Misty waved her hands, as she backed away. "I am NOT going to act substitute DJ!" 

   Melody's brows furrowed. "NOT you! I mean _me!_"

   "You?" Misty asked, taken aback.

   "I make a perfect DJ."

   "There is no need for that," Todd interrupted. Misty saw the DJ they picked arriving. "But the performers are not here yet." 

   "That'll be fine!" Misty approached the DJ and ushered him to the booth. "Please, if you need anything, just ask. And you get one hour break after two and a half hours of the dance." She looked at her watch and was astonished that it was half past six. She peeked on the doorway, and saw numerous students getting dropped off from various cars. She spotted Suzie, stepping out from a limousine on her three-inch heeled sandals. Wearing an ivory-colored poly crepe gown with diamond lining on the hems, Suzie's gown half as good as the gowns worn by the celebrities during the Oscars. She adjusted her shawl as her driver closed the door and sped away. Students gasped with awe.

   "Suzie is here," Misty whispered. 

   Melody froze. She looked down at her white outfit. "Does this look hideous?"

   Misty gave her an incensed look. "Don't be silly, your aunt is a great dressmaker, remember? And she made that our gown personally for us, without the help of her employees." She tapped Melody on the shoulder. "Besides, her gorgeous dress won't cover her bad attitude."

   "Right." Melody agreed confidently.  

   Misty saw that it was almost seven, and the dance was about to start. Todd told her that everything was A-OK and the dance can start already. They all stepped outside, mingling with the other people before the front door of the gym opened. The chaperons, Mrs. Carlton and Mr. Sanchez, stood by the door and they too, were wearing stunning outfits. Well, except for Mrs. Carlton, who was wearing casual clothes, but smiling stunningly. 

   "I love your outfit, Misty!" someone called, and she saw it was Whitney and her friends. "Thanks, Whit! You too!" She waved. 

   "See? They like your outfit better!" Melody said in a fake whiny voice.

   Misty frowned. "Don't be ridiculous!"

   "Is that custom made? Very beautiful," Misty's co-editor-in-chief told Melody. 

   "Thanks!" Melody said gratefully. 

   "See?"

   "I guess you're right." Melody sighed with relief. She straightened herself as the DJ, Dr. Chubby Man, sat down at the booth, and started playing 'Waiting For Tonight' by Jennifer Lopez. 

   Misty and Melody just mingled in the dance floor, dancing randomly and not caring that they didn't have partners.

~*~

   "I love the night life…(blah…blah…)…boogie…" Brock sang, as he entered the dance floor. Plenty of students were just dancing randomly, and not really minding about partners for the first song. After all, they had _long_ night. 

   Ash looked at Tracey, who was clearly not interested in dancing. He even brought his sketchpad! "You're not going to dance?"

   "No. I just was to sketch, and maybe they'll use this in the school paper." 

   "Right." Ash just sighed, looking around for Mrs. Carlton. He wanted that extra credit so much that it forced him to go to the dance. He saw Casey Carmichaels pass, but she didn't even glance at him. Ash didn't care; it was nice that she didn't bug him so much anymore. Richie and Duplica were kicking it in the dance floor, and so were Todd and Clair. 

   "This will be interesting." Someone said from behind them. 

   Ash spun around. He saw a girl walk away, her auburn curls bounced from her back as she walked gracefully to the dance floor. It was Bridget Ferris.

   _What will be interesting?_

~*~

   "I need a break," Melody said, fanning her hand with herself. She dragged Misty to the table where the punch bowl was placed. Mr. Sanchez roamed the table, making sure that no one spiked the punch with liquor or drugs. 

   The second song, 'Overprotected' by Britney Spears, ended. "Okay! How about we play a slow song?" Dr. Chubby Man said, his voice booming through the speakers.

   "Slow song? Already?" Misty said, surprised. 

   "Maybe to turn down the mood a bit." Melody was about to get a cup for the punch when someone approached her. 

   "Look who showed on her white gown," Suzie snickered, glaring at Misty. 

   Misty looked at Melody. Melody nodded, and she went off. 

   "Oh, I showed all right."

   Suzie raised a brow. "I must say that gown is just so pretty. It almost looks like it's expensive." 

   Melody looked outraged. "Are you calling me cheap? The price of my clothing is really none of your business, and it doesn't matter even if I bought them from a thrift shop!"

   Suzie let out a false laugh. "Oh, please." She looked directly behind Melody, where Cassidy was standing. Cassidy approached them, and poured three cups of punch. She handed one to Suzie and the other one to Melody. 

   "Punch?"

   Melody looked at her. She knew Cassidy couldn't pull a dangerous stunt because Mr. Sanchez was roaming the food tables. She accepted the drink. As she placed her lips on the rim of the cup, she saw something floating on the bottom.

   Yes, that's right. Cassidy couldn't pull a _dangerous_ stunt, but she could pull a _mean_ one. 

   Melody screamed, dropping the cup on the floor. "There's a worm in my drink!" 

~*~

**Wacky Witch: **Whew! I finished the chapter, at last. This is also boring, but I don't know…I feel like posting this one already. 

**Reviewers**

**Violet Emeralds:** No, I don't have to keep praising you at the end of my chapters, but I WANT to! Weird, huh? Anyway, I can't believe you've got 200+ reviews! Talk about a great story. J

**Fire Fox: **I'm sorry, but I didn't see your review on the chapter before the last chapter, and most certainly didn't delete it. I know black holes and such, so you don't to explain it to me. Thanks for the reviews. 

**Vixxi:** Well, they're not as long as my chapter, of course. If you take the time to use Microsoft Word to check on the number of words, my notes aren't even half as many as the words in my shortest chapters. ^_^ Well, thanks for the review and keep on reading. ^_^

**And to all the other reviewers (including the people above),**

Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you'll still stick around.** __**

     
   


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